I’ve included the summary above that looks at the last 5 year’s worth of 2-year-old performances over this course and distance because I want to highlight that this race was run in a good overall time figure. Stacking the field behind him, Tyler Gaffalione dropped the pace on Emphatic as the field headed into the back straight, recording mid-race splits of 12.13 and 12.10s. That meant that as they passed the 5 furlong pole, there was a gap of just 0.43s from first to last, with Emphatic holding a narrow lead of 0.12s over Summer Starlet. There was a brief moment in the back straight where Summer Starlet appeared to take a false step and she lost a length in the process, although that gap was quickly recovered. Having won the Spinaway Stakes in impressive fashion at Saratoga last month, she was the horse to keep an eye on and when the pace began to lift, the pair quickly put distance between themselves and the rest. The key from this point was Emphatic’s ability to lengthen her stride. At an average of 25.25 ft, Emphatic had the longest stride in the field, but that stride stretched to a peak average of 26.23 ft and despite all of her exertions in the final half a mile of the race, that long stride was too much for Summer Starlet to overcome. Steve Asmussen’s filly lost very little in defeat and the pair were the best part of half a furlong clear of the rest by the time they crossed the line, with Summer Starlet running a final time that was 3s quicker than the 3rd placed Oh She Said Yes. Summer Starlet was an incredibly impressive winner of the Spinaway Stakes last month and at the time, my review of the race included the ominous quote “if she improves again, that may well be enough to bring her connections Breeders’ Cup success”. At the time, she looked like she was the best 2-year-old filly that we had seen amongst this year’s crop. It perhaps shows how quickly the picture can change in the juvenile division, but it also leads to the question “how good might Emphatic prove to be?”