Ready Signal prevailed in a tight three-way photo finish to win the $75,000 Ten Palms S. Sunday at Gulfstream Park, becoming the 130th career stakes winner for More Than Ready.
In the first seven weeks of this year, international champion sire More Than Ready already has nine stakes horses, four stakes winners, on three continents.
In notching her inaugural stakes victory, Ready Signal got away fairly clean in the one-mile turf affair, settling on the rail in fifth through the first turn and for the backstretch run. Still bottled up around the final bend, Edgar Prado waited looked for an opening as the compact field turned for home. He found a narrow gap outside the eighth pole, and Ready Signal burst through as several horses were vying for the win.
In deep stretch, Ready Signal wore down both Byrama and Angel’s South to win by a nose and a neck, respectively. The winner ran the mile in a quick 1:34.10 to collect her third win of her career. She has bankrolled $168,694 for owner/trainer Amy Tarrant’s Hardacre Farm LLC.
“She’s my high-maintenance chick in the barn. I was very concerned. It was hot and she didn’t clean up her food. I’m a mother, I worry about everything,” Tarrant said. “But she did a great job and Edgar gave her a great ride and did everything he needed to do to win. I knew if she ran her best race and got a good trip that she could win it, and she did.”
“It worked out beautifully, exactly how we planned it. I was able to split horses and she was there for me. I was very fortunate to have that kind of trip,” Prado said. “It was close (at the finish), because I didn’t know how much horse Johnny (Velazquez, aboard Byrama) had when he got through, but the angle made the difference.”
“She’s done well for us. She’s had some bad trips. It’s gratifying that she could win this and show what she is. It’s her first stakes win. She’s been stakes-place before,” said Tarrant, who saddled Ready Signal for a second-place finish in the 2011 Ginger Brew S.
