Temple City filly goes gate to wire in All Along S.

Valedictorian scored her second stakes win of the year on Saturday when the 4-year-old daughter of Temple City went gate-to-wire in the $150,000 All Along S. at Laurel Park.

Valedictorian, owned by Epic Racing, upped her record to 9-4-2 in 21 starts, and her earnings to $344,435. She is one of nine stakes horses this year for her sire.

Ridden for the first time by J. D. Acosta, Valedictorian was sent right to the front on the yielding turf. Setting steady fractions while maintaining about a two-length lead through the first six furlongs, the dark bay filly opened up by some five lengths in mid-stretch before hitting the wire two lengths in front of Mythical Mission.

“I looked back a couple of times turning for home and I saw she slowed down a little bit,” Acosta said. “I know the horses from off the pace are going to try to catch up to me but she left a little bit in the tank and she gave it to me.”

Valedictorian is a daughter of Smart n Classy, who won the Eatontown H. (G3) and earned nearly $500,000.