Chelsea Durand Photo

Venencia up in time to take $135K Forever Together

by Mary Eddy

Venencia notched her first North American victory in style for four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown in Sunday’s $135,000 Forever Together, a 1 1/16-mile outer turf route for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Campaigned by Bradley Thoroughbreds, Laura Leigh Stable, Jim Cone, Belmar Racing and Breeding, Team Hanley and Cambron Equine, the 4-year-old daughter of Recoletos improved off a runner-up effort in a one-mile optional claimer last out on October 10 at the Big A.

Expertly piloted by Manny Franco, Venencia was away a step slow from post 3 and sat patiently well off the pace set by Quarrel, who slipped up the rail to take charge through the first turn under pressure from Edict through an opening quarter-mile in 23.86 seconds over the firm footing.

Payout Ratio chased a close third along the rail with a gap back to Canisy in fourth through the half-mile in 47.21, but Franco remained collected as he and Venencia trailed in last approaching the turn.

“I was good where I was because I felt like the pace was hot in front,” Franco said. “So, it was a matter of time when I made my move.”

Quarrel clung to a precarious lead through three quarters in 1:11.11 as Edict came under a ride from Hall of Famer John Velazquez, but Breath Away split rivals from mid-pack and swung three-wide in tandem with Canisy to make it four across the track at the top of the stretch.

Franco kept Venencia out of trouble and brought her five-wide while never losing momentum, gaining with every stride down the center of the course and passing the tiring frontrunners as Breath Away dismissed the other rivals with a sixteenth left to run.

Breath Away was game to the wire under Dylan Davis but could not repel the impressive turn of foot from Venencia as she crossed the wire a neck the best in a final time of 1:40.76.

The Brown-trained Root Cause rallied well to finish another two lengths back in third while well clear of fourth-place Delahaye, the third entry for Brown in the race. Quarrel, Edict, Canisy and Payout Ratio completed the order of finish. Tass and main track-only entrant Movie Moxy were scratched.

Delahaye was pulled up in the gallop out and was provided a ride home in the equine ambulance. She was reported to have bled.

Franco, aboard Venencia for the first time in the afternoon, said he was not concerned with being last early.

“She always gets off slow. But I wasn’t in a hurry with her, because that is her style,” Franco explained. “So, I mean the pace helped me a lot. When I swing wide, I have so much horse, so when I hit the clear she just took off. She took a little bit to get there, because the five [Breath Away] I have to give her credit, she was running too.”

Davis, aboard the Christophe Clement-trained Breath Away, said his charge responded well when asked in the stretch.

“You might think it was an early move, but she ran great. She had a good turn of foot,” Davis said. “She saved all the ground and came with a good run. She was running all the way through the wire but that one was just a little bit better than me, to run me down. I’m still happy with the way she ran today. She ran hard. She had another tough beat like last time where it was a head bob for everything. Another head bob, but she got back healthy so we will try again.”

Bred in France by Patricia Laffon Lomba, Ines Laffon Lomba and Fernando Laffon Lomba, Venencia adds to a debut maiden win in November 2022 at Chantilly when in the care of conditioner Carlos Laffon-Parias. She banked $74,250 in victory while improving her lifetime record to 6-2-1-2 and returning $15.60 on a $2 win wager.

Live racing resumes Thursday at the Big A with an eight-race card. First post is 12:10 p.m. Eastern.

America’s Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Aqueduct Racetrack fall meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule/.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the fall meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.