Silent Mission wins without blinkers, figure 8
AFTER some close attempts without any success, the connections of Silent Mission can breathe a sigh of relief as the bay filly scored in a native-bred three-yearold (non-winners of two)/ imported three-year-old and upwards maiden for fillies and mares contest on Tuesday, September 20, 2022.
Bred by Savoy Stomp out of
Lady Mandi, Silent Mission, running without both the blinkers and figure 8 off, came with a strong run in deep stretch on the inside rails and got the better of
Alexa’s Secret, A Gift From Ben and Thirtyonekisses — in that order — by a neck in a searing finish to the wire in the six-furlong (1,200m) contest.
Trainer Jason Dacosta said that the change of racing equipment played a significant role in his charge’s victory.
“She (Silent Mission) has been knocking on the door for some time now and so we thought that she had a really good chance to win here. She kind of showed that she didn’t like the blinkers and so we took it off, along with the figure 8, and she won.
“I was a bit worried as she was blocked of racing room in the final half of the race, but she got the run on the rails and got her head down at the right time,” Dacosta said.
Silent Mission sat in mid-pack when the barriers opened and watched as Berlino’s Choice (Samantha Fletcher), A Gift From Ben (Dick Cardenas), and Alexa’s Dream (Chris Mamdeen) disputed the early lead.
Navigating the half-mile (800m) turn, Silent Mission began her run at the leaders. Turning for home, jockey Omar Walker positioned his mount on the inside rails as Silent Mission made up ground while challenging for the lead.
With none of the four runners giving up, a battle for supremacy then developed — but Walker kept his mount well-balanced on the inside of runners, and Silent Mission responded well and got up for the win at the wire. The winning time was 1:14.0.