Cross Traffic filly all heart in first stakes win

Pat’s No Fool made a huge move on the turn then dug in gamely in deep stretch to score her first stakes win in Sunday’s $100,000 Maddie May S. at Aqueduct.

The 3-year-old filly is the sixth black type winner and 10^th black type horse for Cross Traffic, who was last year’s #1 First-Crop Sire of 18 winners, including the champion 2-year-old filly Jaywalk.

Shipping in from Laurel Park for the Maddie May, Pat’s No Fool was making her stakes debut in Sunday’s one-mile affair. In no hurry early from post two, she settled near the back of the pack and was taken to the outside by Jevian Toledo. Midway on the turn, Pat’s No Fool quickly accelerated and in the matter of an eighth-mile took over the lead. She opened up by three lengths in mid-stretch then dug in late to hold off Wadadli Princess by three-quarters of a length.

“She has a lot of ability,” said trainer Gary Capuano. “She had been training super. We thought she had the talent. She’s a big, strong filly. She does everything right. She didn’t break as good as I thought, but she got the perfect setup. He [jockey Jevian Toledo] got her to the outside and made a nice sustained run and was able to hold off. This was a big effort. It was big.”

Owned by Harry Loso, Pat’s No Fool is now 2-0-1 in four starts and has earned $82,545. Out of Dream Affair and bred by Banahan Farms and Saratoga Glen Farm, she is a half-sister to multiple graded stakes winner Flipcup.