Balmoral Park (11/10/12)
Contact: Tom Kelley
(708) 672-1414
American Jewel Retires in Winning Fashion
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| American Jewel |
American Jewel romped to an eight-length victory in the final race of her career—the $145,000 American National Stake for 3-year-old pacing fillies Saturday night, Nov. 10 at Balmoral Park.
The daughter of American Ideal-Trim Hanover avoided a first-turn mishap to lead at every post, eventually stopping the timer in a brisk 1:51.3 for North America’s leading driver Tim Tetrick.
“She’s a champion mare, and she’s going out a champion,” Tetrick said. “George (owner Segal) is doing the right thing by retiring her at this point in her career. She’s raced her eyeballs out this whole season and she deserves to end her career this way.”
Segal, who owns and manages Brittany Farms of Versailles, KY, was on hand to witness the filly’s final start.
“There’s been a lot of bumps along the way in this filly’s career,” Segal noted. “But this filly is at the top of her game right now and deserves to go out a winner. I give all the credit to Tim (Tetrick) and Jimmy (trainer Takter).”
Segal added that American Jewel, who last captured the $500,000 Breeders Crown at Woodbine on Oct. 27, will be bred to Somebeachsomewhere in the Spring of 2013.
Fractions for the mile were :27.3, :54.1 and 1:20.4. American Jewel, who has won 17 of 25 starts and who is a world record holder at ages 2 and 3, pushed her lifetime earnings to $1,840,565 with her American National triumph.
Blackjack Princess (Daniel Dube) finished second, while Destiny’s Chance (Yannick Gingras) was third.
The incident in the first turn occurred when MJ’s Bid (Mike Oosting) became rough gaited, causing interference to Sleazy Does It (Marcus Miller), Miss Lucy O (Dan Shetler) and Kendyl (Casey Leonard). All drivers and horses escaped without injury.
“Everybody got kind of crowded around the first turn and it could have gotten pretty ugly, but all of the drivers out there are so professional that we were able to get out of what could have been a very nasty situation,” Tetrick stressed. “But that didn’t overshadow American Jewel’s performance in here, and I was just very happy to be a part of her final trip.”
For more information visit www.balmoralpark.com or call (708) 672-1414.
About Balmoral Park: Located in Crete, IL just 12 miles south of 80/94; Balmoral Park has been one of the nation's premier horse racing facilities since 1926. Balmoral Park features live racing every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Admission and parking is always free.
