By DRF.com
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 6, 2020) — Joy’s Rocket and jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. were much more straightforward in their victory in the Songbird Stakes.
The Florida-bred daughter of California stallion Anthony’s Cross went right to the lead and never saw another horse. She got some pressure throughout from Farsighted, but shook free of that rival at the top of the stretch and drew away to win by three lengths. The final time was 1:16.18.
The winner paid $19, $8.40, and $5.80. Farsighted held on for second and paid $6.40 and $4.20. Roc’s Princess, a 70-1 longshot, rolled in for third and paid $19. A $1 exacta paid $77.90, and the 50-cent trifecta paid $1,276.85.
Joy’s Rocket was one of three fillies in the field that had already been tested in a graded stakes. She came into the Songbird off a fourth-place finish in the Frizette Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park. The Songbird gave her a third win from five starts.
Charles Weston’s Weston Thoroughbreds Training and Sales bred Joy’s Rocket in Florida out of the Special Rate mare Queenie’s Pride. The filly was bought at this year’s Ocala Breeders’ Sales March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale for $47,000 by trainer Steve Asmussen for Jay Hanley’s Team Hanley racing stable. Parkland Thoroughbreds bought into the filly before the Frizette.
Anthony’s Cross entered stud at Pleasant Acres Stallions near Ocala, Fla., and now stands at Special T Thoroughbreds in California, where his 2020 fee was $2,500.