R Betty Graybull emerges from Jersey fog to win $200K Monmouth Park NATC Futurity

Photo By Jessica Denver/EQUI-PHOTO R BETTY GRAYBULL #4

Even though all five of her rivals in the $200,000 Monmouth Park NATC Futurity had been sold for higher prices as yearlings or juveniles and two had higher Daily Racing Form Beyer figures, Fantasy Lane Stable's R Betty Graybull was favored at even-money, and she showed why. Emerging from dense fog in third place after a fairly quick 45.43 half-mile over Monmouth's sloppy sealed track, the May-foaled two-year-old filly stalked three-wide into the turn and finally overtook 3.40-to-1 second choice Kays and Jays right before the wire, scoring by a neck. R Betty Graybull and Kays and Jays were the two youngest starters in the event.

It was the day's second winning ride aboard a two-year-old filly for jockey Carlos Marquez Jr., who was R Betty Graybull's third rider in three starts and indicated prior confidence in the outcome: "She broke real sharp, and a few horses were going head-to-head for the early lead," Marquez recounted. "I didn't want to pull back, so I kept my ground, and a couple (of) horses backed off. I sat third around the turn, and she kicked in when I asked her in the lane."

Victory in the NATC (National Association of Two-Year-Old Consignors) Futurity -- for 2008 juvenile fillies that had been cataloged for sale in 2008 and whose consignors had paid a 2008 advertising fee -- increased R Betty Graybull's earnings to $153,200 in three starts. The gray/roan filly had placed third among nine in her August 17 debut at Saratoga while twice having to be steadied, and she came back three weeks later to score by 4-1/4 lengths at Belmont, after which trainer Alan Seewald had given her a half-mile Monmouth workout on September 20. Seewald implied he had skipped Belmont's seven-furlong Joseph A. Gimma Stakes for New York-bred juvenile fillies on September 21 to go into the NATC Futurity: "We had this race in mind for a while," explained Seewald. "We got her to break her maiden last out (September 7), and that was important. She's a New York-bred, and we skipped a New York stakes for this spot. She's a nice filly. We'll see how she comes out of this. The plan is the Maid of the Mist Stakes ($100,000-guaranteed, one-turn mile at Belmont, for New York-bred two-year-old fillies, on New York Showcase Day, Saturday, October 18) next."

A $37,000 purchase at Fasig-Tipton's 2007 Saratoga preferred New York-bred yearling sale who was "not sold" at $40,000 at the OBS March sale of two-year-olds seven months later, R Betty Graybull races for Fantasy Lane Stable -- an organization of racing partnerships managed by Robert Hutt of Manalapan, New Jersey.

Hutt also had won Monmouth's 2004 Handicapping Challenge for a first-place prize of $30,000. R Betty Graybull is the second named offspring and second state-bred winner bred by the Pegasus Farms, Inc. of Thomas Dushas of Rye, New York. The daughter of Eclipse Horse of the Year Holy Bull is out of Hey Darla, whose five winning half-siblings include four-time winner (three times on turf) Lipstick Traces ($143,117). Further back, this is the female family of 2000 Eclipse Champion Turf Female Perfect Sting ($2,202,042).

Both of the Monmouth Park NATC Futurity contests -- for fillies and for colts and geldings -- had strong New York breeding angles. The colt/gelding division immediately following R Betty Graybull's victory was won by Forty Thieves -- the first stakes winner from the first crop of New York-bred-and-based stallion Read the Footnotes. R Betty Graybull is the third New York-bred two-year-old winner of a 2008 black-type stakes outside state-bred company and is among nine juveniles bred in the Empire State that have finished in the top-three in open (to horses bred anywhere) black-type stakes competition this year.

R Betty Graybull and Rollers (above) are among 25 New York-bred winners of black-type stakes outside state-bred company in 2008, and the Monmouth Park NATC Futurity and Gallant Bob Handicap are the 28th and 29th open black-type events captured by New York-breds this year. Those 29 stakes victories have been scored at 17 tracks in nine U.S. states plus England and Canada. The winner of the previous year's Gallant Bob Handicap, Premium Wine (who is Grade 1-placed in 2008), had been the 17th New York-bred winner of a black-type stakes outside state-bred competition in 2007.

In the paddock before the race

The Postparade

Watching from upstairs

The race

After the race and the Winner Circle

The official picture

If you like to see more pictures from the NATC taken by track photographer Bill Denver please click here http://www.photoshelter.com/gallery-show?G_ID=G0000Rym3nyuSOKo

The official race chart

You Tube and Diana's web site

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9Gt56FjFIk (Fred)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ch-nzsj63Y (Patrick)