Abrogate Turns the Tables With Purple Martin Win
HOT SPRINGS, AR (Saturday, April 3, 2021) – Alex and JoAnn Lieblong’s Abrogate, coming off a third-place finish behind 4-5 Purple Martin favorite Windmill in the Dixie Belle Stakes on Feb. 28, turned the tables on her rival with a half-length victory in Saturday’s $200,000 race for 3-year-old filly sprinters. Windmill had to settle for third after setting the pace.
Breaking from post positon three under leading rider Ricardo Santana Jr., Abrograte tracked Windmill in second through fractions of :21 3/5 and :45 for the first half mile. She gained the advantage by a head at the top of the lane and dug in late to prevail over a fast closing Joyful Cadence in a final time of 1:10 2/5 for six furlongs over a fast track.
“She showed the quality she has under very good conditions,” trainer Steve Asmussen said. “She’s a very good filly and we see good things in her future.”
Abrogate, an Outwork filly, improved her record to three wins from four starts and has now earned $234,492. She returned $8, $3.40 and $2.10 at odds of 3-1.
There will be no live racing Sunday in observance of the Easter holiday. Live racing will resume Thursday, April 8 for the start a four-day race week highlighted by the $1 million Arkansas Derby and three other stakes on Saturday, April 10.
Winning jockey Ricardo Santana Jr., Abrogate: “A lot of people don't know that we missed 11 days of training. We knew she was going to be a little flat in her last race (third-place finish in Feb. 28 Dixie Belle). We took it easy with her that day. Today, she was on her toes and everything changed today.”
Jockey David Cabrera, second on Joyful Cadence: “I knew it was a fast race. The filly ran a really big race. We got caught going a little wide. She was into the bit pretty good. We worked all the way down the lane, but we just never could get by that other one.”