Miss Leslie checked a lot of boxes in the Delaware Handicap on Saturday.
Third consecutive victory … check.
First graded stakes victory … check.
First victory at the grueling, 1¼-mile distance … check.
First victory over a sloppy track … check.
Most impressively, widest margin of victory in the 85-year history of one of the nation’s most prestigious races for fillies and mares … check.
The rapidly improving 4-year-old did all of that with ease, taking command on the far turn under jockey Angel Cruz and splashing to a 12-length win in the Grade II, $500,125 DelCap.
Miss Leslie was coming in with back-to-back wins in the $106,000 Serena’s Song at Monmouth Park on May 8 and the $150,000 Obeah Stakes – the local prep for the DelCap – at Delaware Park on June 8.
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But this was by far the biggest test of her career, and she passed it with a runaway victory.
“This a good feeling because she won impressive,” winning trainer Claudio Gonzalez told Delaware Park racing information coordinator Chris Sobocinski. “She has been doing really good and she showed how well she is doing. When she goes long, she is an even better filly.”
Cruz was riding Miss Leslie for the ninth consecutive time. The combination has produced six wins in that time, with this one the most impressive.
“Claudio has trusted me with this filly the whole time and he really had her ready today,” Cruz said. “I just cruised along with her. She just kept going.”
Let’s Cruise led the seven-horse field through splits of 24.10 seconds for the opening quarter, 48.49 for a half mile and 1:13.73 for six furlongs.
Miss Leslie had been in third place for much of the way, but easily assumed command on the far turn and made it an easy romp down the stretch for her jockey. The 12-length margin of victory broke the DelCap record of 10¾ lengths set by National Museum of Racing Hall of Famer Royal Delta in 2013.
“I looked back and I was home free,” Cruz said. “It was a nice performance and I did not expect to win like that. She was ready today.”
Sent off as the 9-5 favorite, Miss Leslie returned $5.80 to win, $2.80 to place and $2.20 to show. Battle Bling finished second, with Tonal Vision coming home third. The winning time was 2:04.50.
Miss Leslie won for the 10th time in 22 career starts and pushed her career earnings to $865,650.
She may also have earned a chance at even bigger things – like her first Grade I start – after Saturday’s blowout.
“We’ve got to think about that with way she ran today, but let’s see how she comes back and how she is doing,” Gonzalez said. “After that, we will decide on what we will do.”
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ
