Jockey Jose Ortiz put Antoinette on the lead at the start, and the Godolphin homebred filly by Hard Spun was never headed, winning the Grade 3, $125,000 The Very One Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Saturday in Hallandale Beach, Fla.
Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Antoinette proved 2 1/4 lengths the best, paying $9.20 as the tepid 7-2 favorite in the field of nine fillies and mares going 1 3/16 miles on firm turf. She covered the distance in 1:53.70 after clicking off easy fractions of :23.98, :49.11, 1:13.24, and 1:36.67.
Belle Laura finished second, a neck ahead of Sister Hanan, with Tuned a head back in fourth and War Like Goddess finishing fifth.
The victory was the fourth in 11 starts for Antoinette, who hasn’t raced since an eighth-place finish in the G3 Valley View Stakes at Keeneland last Oct. 18. Prior to that she ran second to Magic Attitude in the G1 Belmont Oaks Invitational, one month after winning the Saratoga Oaks in similar wire to wire fashion.
Saturday was a big day for Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin. In addition to Antoinette’s victory, a pair of homebred runners won rich graded stakes at Oaklawn: Mystic Guide winning the G3, $600,000 Razorback Handicap and champion Essential Quality winning the G3, $750,000 Southwest Stakes in his 2021 debut.
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