Let It Ride Mom wins Whimsical S. (G3) thriller

Let It Ride Mom got her nose on the wire first in a dramatic edition of the Whimsical S. (G3) Saturday at Woodbine, just besting Moonlit Promise to give the 4-year-old Into Mischief filly her first stakes victory.

The win didn’t come easy for the Live Oak Plantation filly. In between horses a few lengths off the lead early on, Let It Ride Mom was shuffled back slightly with three furlongs to run. Digging in again at the top of the stretch, jockey Patrick Husbands found a narrow opening between horses. It wasn’t until the final few strides she struck the front to get to the finish line just in front of Moonlit Promise.

The final time of 1:08.96 was less than a second off the track record.

“She ran great, she’s a lovely filly,” said Kathryn Sullivan, assistant for winning conditioner Mark Casse. “We’ve always really liked her and she just loves this track. She does great on this track so we’re really happy.”

Let It Ride Mom, previous winner of a pair of listed races, is now 4-3-0 in 11 starts and has earned $246,019. Her dam Golden Marlin was a winner of the Dogwood S. (G3) at Churchill Downs.