Kauai Katie victorious in G2 Adirondack S.
August 12, 2012
Kauai Katie, the Spendthrift Farm bred daughter of Malibu Moon, is two-for-two after her sharp 2 3/4-length victory in the $200,000 Adirondack S. (G2) Sunday at Saratoga. The 2-year-old filly dazzled in her debut on July 20, winning by 12 lengths and predictably being tabbed a “TDN Rising Star”.
Ridden by Rosie Napravnik, Kauai Katie shot right to the lead in the Adirondack much like she did in her maiden victory. The 2-5 favorite zipped through a half mile in just under 45 seconds, but had plenty left for the stretch drive to wrap up the win in hand. The final time for the 6 1/2-furlongs was 1:16.81
“From an inside post with a fast filly and a couple of fast ones outside, we didn’t want to take away what’s natural to her,” said winning trainer Todd Pletcher. “When you go 21 and 3 and 44 and change you always worry how much they’re going to have left in the tank coming back on short rest going from 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 furlongs. But I thought she did it well.”
Kauai Katie was a $490,000 Fasig-Tipton Florida March 2-year-old sale purchase by Stonestreet Stables this spring at Palm Meadows. She is out of More Than Pretty, winner of Churchill Downs’ Open Mind S.
Malibu Moon, a perennial top-10 sire in North America, is once again solidly among the country’s best stallions in 2012. In addition to Kauai Katie, his top runners this year include Eden’s Moon, winner of the Las Virgenes S. (G1) and San Clemente H. (G2), and Prospective, who has victories in the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) and Ohio Derby (G3).