Venti Valentine and Dylan Davis cruise to the finish first in Monday’s Jack Betta Be Rite Stakes at Finger Lakes. SV Photography.
Venti Valentine made a successful first trek to Finger Lakes Monday and came away with her fifth stakes victory in the $50,000 Jack Betta Be Rite Stakes for New York-bred fillies and mares.
Venti Valentine, fresh after winning the Johnstone Mile in early August at Saratoga Race Course in her most recent start, won the the 1 1/16-mile Jack Betta Be Rite by 7 3/4 lengths under Dylan Davis to improve to 2-for-4 in 2023. Trained by Jorge Abreu and sent off as the 2-5 favorite in the field of six, the 4-year-old daughter of Firing Line won in 1:46.45 over the fast track.
Owned by NY Final Furlong Racing Stable and Parkland Thoroughbreds, Venti Valentine avoided a possible squeeze shortly after the start and settled into second behind Missing Fortune past the finish the first time.
Missing Fortune, coming off a win going 6 furlongs in a state-bred allowance last time out at Saratoga, clicked off splits of :24.77 and :48.59 while a half-length ahead of Venti Valentine. Curly Girl and Gone and Forgotten chased the top two up the backstretch with Eros’s Girl and Shesascoldasice behind the others.
Venti Valentine amped up the pressure on the leader after 6 furlongs in 1:13.15 and took over on the far turn. Davis stayed busy on Venti Valentine, the New York-bred champion 2-year-old filly in 2021 and a finalist for New York-bred champion 3-year-old filly honors in 2022, widened her advantage from there. She extended her 4 1/2-length lead in midstretch to the 7 3/4 lengths at the finish with Missing Fortune holding onto the place spot. Shesascoldasice finished third, a head in front of Gone and Forgotten. Curly Girl and Eros’s Girl completed the field.
Bred by Final Furlong Racing Stable and Maspeth Stable and foaled at Schuylerville Thoroughbred Farm in Schuylerville, Venti Valetine improved to 6-2-2 in 14 starts and boosted her bankroll to $647,600 with the victory.
Venti Valentine is one of two stakes winners out of the winning Medaglia d’Oro mare Glory Gold, whose produce record includes multiple stakes winner and $516,625-earner Espresso Shot. That mare was also raced by Venti Valentine’s connections and trained by Abreu.
Espresso Shot was sold for $300,000 at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November mixed sale three years after Final Furlong purchased Glory Gold carrying Venti Valentine for $13,000 at the 2018 Keeneland November breeding stock sale. They purchased that mare after being impressed with Espresso Shot, who they purchased for $69,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale.
The dam of four winners from five runners overall, Glory Gold is the dam of the New York-bred 2-year-old Omaha Beach filly Landed. Bred by Final Furlong Racing Stable and Maspeth Stable, that filly sold for $500,000 to Lael Stables at last year’s Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale of selected yearlings. She finished third in her debut Sept. 28 against New York-bred maidens on the main track during the Belmont at the Big A meeting.
Venti Valentine won two of three starts, including the Maid of the Mist Stakes, along with a runner-up finish in the Grade 2 Demoiselle Stakes as a 2-year-old. She defeated open company in the Busher Invitational Stakes and finished second in the Grade 3 Gazelle to earn a spot in the 2022 Kentucky Oaks. Venti Valentine also won the Bay Ridge Stakes at Aqueduct and finished third in the Fleet Indian Stakes at Saratoga during her 3-year-old campaign.
