DEL MAR, Calif. (Nov. 1, 2024) — Longshot Tequilaandtherapy held off the fast-closing Grateful My Love to win Friday’s $175,000 Golden State Juvenile Fillies Stakes for Golden State Series eligible 2-year-old fillies at Del Mar.
Tequilaandtherapy is by Mrazek, out of the In Excess mare Chexcess, was bred by Reddam Racing, is owned by Here We Go Brothers and is trained by Doug O’Neill.
“We thought the other horse (#4 Pavel Is Appealing) was better than Tequilaandtherapy, but she kind of missed the break a little bit,” said assistant trainer Leandro Mora. “So, then we went from Plan A to Plan B. And I think it’s starting to work out. I was at a different angle (to see the tight finish) and I thought the 7 (Grateful My Love) got us at the wire. But once I saw the picture come up, I was the happiest man on earth.”
Tequilaandtherapy has two wins in six starts, earnings of $164,067 and was coming off a fourth in the Oct. 6 Surfer Girl.
“She broke great,” said jockey Edwin Maldonado. “She was doing everything so nice and easy so I just sat on her. The track is a little heavy, I didn’t want her to gas out early. The last time, she came off the pace, so I waited and I was able to split the leaders. I could feel that horse coming on the outside nearing the wire. I didn’t know if I won or not.”
Tequilaandtherapy ran the seven furlongs in 1:24.91 at odds of 11-1 in a field of nine, with In the Air Tonight finishing third.