Sports

ANTONIETTE WINS ATHENIA

Favored Antoniette took the lead in the stretch and then drew away from the competition to win the 22nd running of the Grade 3 Athenia Handicap by 2 lengths on the turf yesterday at Aqueduct. Dominique’s Joy, who set the pace for most of the race, was second and Prospectress was another length back in third.

Ridden by Jorge Chavez, Antoniette won the first graded stakes of her career. She is trained by Joseph Schlich and owned by Henryk deKwiatkowski’s Calumet Farm. Antoniette paid $6 to win and ran the mile and a sixteenth in 1:41 4/5.

Dominique’s Joy broke well and set the early pace. Some figured Antoniette would set the pace or press early, but Chavez had his instructions. “Joe [Schlich] told me to take the lead if it was going to come easy,” Chavez said, “or to sit behind the speed if someone else wanted to go.”

Schlich had some worries, though. “I was a little concerned with her rating on the inside because the only other time she had rated off the pace, she was on the outside of horses,” Schlich said.

On the turn, Antoniette started to move up and angled outside. She was at full speed while Dominique’s Joy, with Jerry Bailey up, tried to hold her off.

“When Jerry asked, he didn’t have any horse left and my filly kept on going” Chavez said.