She’sonthewarpath wins battle and war in Ellis Park Turf

Coady Photography photos of She’sonthewarpath, Adam Beschizza up, edging favored Dominga to take the $75,000 Ellis Park Turf.

Video: She’sonthewarpath jockey Adam Beschizza, trainer Steve Margolis

HENDERSON, Ky. (Sunday, July 4, 2021) — She’sonthewarpath was. And the result was a neck victory over favored Dominga in Sunday’s $75,000 Ellis Park Turf at the RUNHAPPY Meet at Ellis Park.

Trainer by Steve Margolis for Robert and Lawana Low, She’sonthewarpath closed from mid-pack to win three stakes last year. However, facing a field devoid of natural front-runners in the field of six fillies and mares, jockey Adam Beschizza didn’t wait on anyone else to do the dirty work for She’sonthewarpath.

Beschizza sent the 5-year-old mare to the initial lead out of the gate from her outside post, before letting her settle just off of the Brad Cox-trained Dominga, who broke on the rail under Shaun Bridgmohan.

Dominga loped through a crawling early pace, but Beschizza kept She’sonthewarpath within pouncing position and went after the favorite heading into the far turn.

“I told Adam, ‘Bridgmohan is on a nice filly for Brad. Just don’t let her stall it. Keep her in your sites,’” Margolis said. “You let a horse like that get loose, it’s going to be tough to catch her.”

Rounding into the stretch, She’sonthewarpath wrested a narrow lead in a bunched up field and had a length advantage with an eighth-mile to go. Dominga wasn’t finished and tried to come back on the rail only to fall a couple feet short.

“We know she’s pretty fast,” Beschizza said. “She ran at 5 1/2 furlongs at Churchill Downs this year, so we know she’s got speed. We know she can rate. She’s probably one of those that can turn it off and turn it on. You just have to be a little bit more aggressive with her out of the gate. She seemed to get a nice perch going around there. We know she’s got the ability and the engine, and that turn of gear.

“We were in prime position, and as soon as I pulled the trigger, she delivered. She’s got that turn of gear that can sort of put horses into shock mode as soon as we turn into the stretch. We took Brad Cox’s horse in there seriously. We knew she was going to go to the lead. The field size was small and sometimes when they get an easy ride on the front end, it can get a bit tactical. It doesn’t usually go to plan like that. But super-pleased for Steve. He’s done a great job with her, and she’s a real barn favorite.”

It was another 1 1/4 lengths back to the late-running Pass the Plate, followed by Sister Hanan, High Regard and Nope. Enjoyitwhilewecan and Alnassem were scratched.

“I got to the spot where I needed to be, and she was comfortable,” Bridgmohan said. “She was game, though. She tried to come back on the other horse. She tried hard.”

Said Paul McGee, trainer of Pass the Plate: “They got away with slow early fractions, so it’s hard to close into that. She ran a good race.”

She’sonthewarpath, a daughter of Declaration of War, completed the mile over firm turf in 1:44.07, the last sixteenth-mile going in 5.84 seconds as she picked up the pace throughout. The fractions were 25.43 seconds, 50.65, 1:15.65 and 1:38.23.

The bay mare now is 7-2-3 in 18 starts, earning $432,820 for the Lows, who are also her breeders.

In her last start, Beschizza backed out of a potential jam early on and She’sonthewarpath closed to be third in a tough field for Churchill Downs’ Grade 3 Mint Julep.

“I probably wasn’t aggressive enough as I should have been, getting a position,” he said. “She rated on me going into the first turn and got a little bump. It just took her off of her game. She came with a flying run at the end. She’s all heart. But we got her day today.”

She’sonthewarpath ran in last year’s $100,000 Kentucky Downs Preview Ladies Turf, showing speed that day and finishing second. Margolis said that stakes is a logical objective, with the ultimate goal being the $750,000 Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf at Kentucky Downs.

“The Lows are great,” Margolis said. “They always do right by the horses they give me. She’s a hard-knocker who always tries. Just grateful to have her. When you have a mare like her, a horse who always tries, you know they’re going to always fire. You just hope everything goes right. She’s such a classy mare. You ask her to go, like Adam says, she gives you everything she’s got.”