Separationofpowers turns pro

Separationofpowers looked like a star in the making when she dominated her debut at Saratoga – but then looked like a green filly with some holes in her armor when she faded to third in the Grade 1 Spinaway Stakes. After bouncing back with a more professional effort to win the Grade 1 Frizette Stakes on Oct. 8 at Belmont, she again looks like a prominent Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies contender.

Separationofpowers, by Candy Ride, was bred in Kentucky by the Northwest Farms of Jerre Paxton, a leading breeder and owner in Washington. Paxton purchased his first Thoroughbreds in the 1970’s, and later expanded to develop a breeding operation in Kentucky. He owned two Breeders’ Cup starters – Firesweeper, who failed to finish the 1985 Juvenile Fillies at Aqueduct, and Smarty Deb, fifth behind Indian Blessing in the 2007 Juvenile Fillies at Monmouth.

Paxton never got to see Separationofpowers, as he died of a heart attack in January 2015 at age 76.

Northwest’s 42 horses were offered via dispersal at that fall’s Keeneland November breeding stock sale. Separationofpowers sold to Nick de Meric for $190,000. De Meric and his team broke and prepared Separationofpowers for Chad Brown, who now conditions her for Klaravich Stables.

“She’s been a real easy horse to train since she’s come in,” Brown said. “She learned her lessons well in Ocala. My staff deserves a lot of the credit. … She’s always trained kind in the morning and she’s a real easy horse to be around.”

In her July 30 debut, Separationofpowers broke well, was in front after a quarter-mile, and rolled through the lane to win by 11 3/4 lengths in the six-furlong maiden special weight. The filly had her hand forced after drawing the rail, just inside then-unbeaten Grade 2 winner Pure Silver in the Spinaway on Saratoga’s closing weekend. The fillies raced heads apart through an opening quarter of 22.36. Separationofpowers wrested a half-length lead from Pure Silver through a half-mile in 45.30. Separationofpowers won that battle, but lost the war, finishing third, four lengths behind winner Lady Ivanka. Pure Silver ended up fourth.

Separationofpowers not only rebounded from that grueling effort, but raced much more professionally in the Frizette. After biding her time in third, she went wide around the leaders on Belmont’s sweeping far turn to assume command, and won the one-mile race by 3 1/2 lengths.

“She’s a little green when she’s around horses, but once she passed them, she jumped in the bit and gave me everything she had,” jockey Jose Ortiz said.

Separationofpowers earned an automatic berth in the Juvenile Fillies with her win in the one-turn Frizette – and Brown is eager to see what she can do in the two-turn, 1 1/16-mile Juvenile Fillies.

“This horse always gave us the impression she would be better around two turns,” he said. “You look at her pedigree and you look at her physically, how much she’s grown through the course of this summer, I’m excited to get her around two turns.”