Marissa’s Lady rallies to take Holiday Inaugural
Turfway Park stakes recap by Kevin Kerstein (Coady photo of #4 Marissa’s Lady wearing down B G warrior in Turfway’s Holiday Inaugural)
FLORENCE, Ky. (Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023) – Boone Family Trust and Tillema Family Trust’s homebred Marissa’s Lady ran down pacesetter B G Warrior in the final strides to win Saturday’s 37th running of the $125,000 Holiday Inaugural Stakes at Turfway Park Racing & Gaming.
The Holiday Inaugural was Marissa’s Lady’s fourth-lifetime victory at Turfway Park. The accomplished 4-year-old daughter of Violence was ridden by Rafael Bejarano for trainer Bill Morey.
In the opening stages of the six-furlong Holiday Inaugural, B G Warrior and jockey Joe Ramos were intent on making the lead. The duo was briefly joined on the front end by fellow longshot Thunders Rocknroll through a swift opening quarter-mile in :21.95. Marissa’s Lady sat third down the backstretch, just to the outside of the dueling leaders. Shortly after the first quarter-mile, Thunders Rocknroll began to retreat while B G Warrior continued her torrid pace with a :43.95 half-mile time. As the field entered the stretch, B G Warrior increased her lead by two lengths over Marissa’s Lady but she began to shorten her stride. In the final jump, Marissa’s Lady was finally able to collar B G Warrior for a neck victory in a final time of 1:09.42.
Here is the complete order of finish for the Holiday Inaugural (with $2 mutuel payouts):
1. Marissa’s Lady ($5.46, $3.38, $2.96)
2. B G Warrior (X, $13.58, $9.74)
3. Bling (X, X, $6.44)
4. Spun Glass
5. Awesome Treat
6. Baby No Worries
7. Secret Money
8. Artie’s Princess
9. Quaria Comet
10. Jill Jitterbug
11. Thunders Rocknroll
12. Train to Artemus
In collaboration with Claiborne Farm, the top 3 finishers of the Holiday Inaugural were awarded $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500 in credits to use for a future stallion pairing at the farm through the 2025 breeding season.
The Holiday Inaugural boosted Marissa’s Lady’s overall earnings to $649,600. Her career record now stands at an impressive 14-8-2-1.
