Galaxina glides to the finish in Saturday’s Park Avenue. NYRA Photo
By Melissa Bauer-Herzog
New York-bred Galaxina lived up to her sire Giant Surprise’s name on Sunday when pulling off a 24-1 upset in the Park Avenue division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series at Aqueduct.
The Ascendant Farms homebred came into the race nearly two months after breaking her maiden in her previous start. That race gave trainer James Bond the cue he needed to run against a salty field where all but one other runner had earned black type. Galaxina’s introduction to stakes company was made fractionally easier when heavy favorite Yo Cuz stumbled out of the gate and was last in the early running.
On the other end of the field, Galaxina made her presence known right away when going straight up to challenge Starship Laoban for the lead. Jockey Trevor McCarthy eased up on that challenge down the backstretch and let Galaxina gallop in second just behind the leader. It looked like Starship Laoban may run away with the victory around the turn until Galaxina resumed her challenge down the stretch.
By the time they hit the final furlong, Galaxina had her nose in front and she steadily pulled away to win by a length over Starship Laoban with Bank On Anna third, 2 1/2 lengths behind the top two. After her early race mishap, Yo Cuz worked hard to catch the leaders but settled for fourth.
“She has been training really good and feeling really good coming into this,” said McCarthy, who also won Saturday’s Times Square division of the NYSSS on Kazmike. “I give a lot of credit to the Bonds. She’s a filly that probably looked a little under class, but with the right trip today and the way she’s been training, I expected her to run really good.”
Foaled at Rockridge Stud in Hudson, Galaxina is a second generation homebred for Ascendant, which purchased her granddam Lokoya Red for $28,000 at the 2015 OBS Fall Mixed Sale in foal to Saarland. Bred to Lawyer Ron in his second season at stud three years later, the mare produced Galaxina’s dam Strange Magic, who never made it to the track but has produced two runners with Galaxina her first winner.
The dam of one winner from three runners, Lokoya Red is a half-sister to 2008 champion turf female Forever Together, who has produced Grade 3-placed Truly Together and stakes-placed Smart Together. Galaxina is the fifth stakes performer under her first three dams with Lokoya Red also a half-sister to the multiple stakes-placed Princess Patricia.
Galaxina’s fourth dam is the stakes winning and successful broodmare Wedding Picture, who has 16 stakes winners under her name. Wedding Picture received her second stakes-winning update in as many days after her Group 1 winning great-granddaughter Bella Vella won the Group 3 R N Irwin Stakes in Australia on Saturday while making her first start in over a year.
Closer to home, Galaxina’s dam Strange Magic has a 2-year-old New York-bred Frank Conversation colt named Incantation and a yearling colt by the same stallion. She wasn’t bred in 2021. Twenty-year-old Lakoya Red also joined the New York-bred program in 2017 and has a 2-year-old New York-bred Temple City colt to come. She was barren to Destin in 2021 and not bred for this year.
