Bizzy Caroline wins be a neck

Catesby W. Clay's homebred Bizzy Caroline was a horse for the course at Churchill Downs last year, and the Ken McPeek trainee needed to call on all of her local savvy to catch the front-running Heavenly Landing in Saturday night's Grade 3, $111,000 Mint Julep Handicap. Galvanized at last by Manny Cruz, the 9-5 favorite surged late to thwart the wire-to-wire bid by a neck.

Bizzy Caroline brought a 3-2-1-0 local mark into the "Downs After Dark" program, including her only prior stakes win in last June's Grade 3 Regret Stakes and a runner-up effort in the Grade 2 Mrs. Revere in November. Unraced until the Keeneland spring meet, the Afleet Alex filly finished third over the Polytrack on April 26, and showed the benefit of that tightener here.

The 9-1 Heavenly Landing got away with steady splits of :24 1/5, :48 4/5 and 1:13 1/5 under no real pressure from Hard Seven. Bizzy Caroline was settled in a ground-saving spot in fifth along the hedge, while Ravi's Song was parked out wide. Two other notable opponents, Snow Top Mountain and Warm Hugs, lagged at the rear.

Heavenly Landing shook free turning for home and opened up by 2 1/2 lengths in midstretch. Bizzy Caroline had room to rally but appeared to be going nowhere, and the same could be said of the closers.

But inside the final sixteenth, Bizzy Caroline came to life. Hopping to her left lead, she started to gain traction, and after switching back to her right lead, she leveled off. The favorite collared Heavenly Landing in the shadow of the wire, covering 1 1/16 miles in 1:43 1/5 on the firm turf and returning $5.60, $3.60 and $3.

The top two were well clear of the rest. Heavenly Landing had 2 3/4 lengths to spare over Hard Seven. Ravi's Song ran evenly in fourth, followed by Artemus Kitten, Snow Top Mountain and Warm Hugs. Tapitsfly was scratched in favor of next Saturday's Grade 1 Just a Game on Belmont Day, and Joharmony was also withdrawn.

Bizzy Caroline's resume now reads 12-4-2-2, $294,844. The dark bay won three in a row last season, following up her maiden and entry-level allowance scores in the aforementioned Regret. Her streak was halted in the Grade 1 American Oaks at Hollywood Park, where she was beaten just three-quarters of a length in fifth. After an eighth in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks, she concluded 2011 with two fine runner-up efforts -- to Daisy Devine in the Grade 3 Valley View at Keeneland and to Marketing Mix in the Mrs. Revere.

Bred by Clay in partnership with his Runnymede Farm in Kentucky, Bizzy Caroline is out of the winning Saint Ballado mare Sacre Coeur. Her second dam is the noted broodmare Kazadancoa, the dam of Grade 2 victress Changing Ways as well as Grade 3 scorers Jacodra's Devil and Jacodra. Changing Ways went on to produce Grade 2 winner Pays to Dream and stakes victress Pumpkin Shell.

Kazadancoa also factors as the ancestress of Grade 2-winning millionaire Tejano Run, the runner-up in the 1995 Kentucky Derby; Group 1 hero Palace Episode; and Grade 2 victor More Royal. The Runnymede matron is represented by another high-profile descendant in Irish Group 2 star Laughing Lashes, third in last year's Group 1 Irish One Thousand Guineas.

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