Marias Golden Rose Finds $75,000 Pearl Necklace Perfectly Fitting

BALTIMORE, June 2 -- Two years ago, amid seven knee operations and unable to work, trainer John Friedman put up his prized mare Maria's Tiara for auction and watched her go through the Timonium sales ring for a mere $4,200.

"I had to; I wasn't working. We needed the money," Friedman, 75, said Saturday at Pimlico.

Maria's Tiara had earned $343,368 and won or placed in nine stakes races for Friedman, and before she left for New York with a new owner, she gave him two foals, both born on Easter Sunday.

The second of the two, Marias Golden Rose, looked a little like her mother Saturday, coming from off the pace and putting away five other fillies in the stretch to win the $75,000 Pearl Necklace for 3-year-old Maryland-bred fillies on the turf course.

Ridden by Horacio Karamanos, Marias Golden Rose won by 2 1/2 lengths, running the 1 1/16 -mile race in 1 minute 44.20 seconds. It was her third victory in her past four starts, and although she had never run particularly fast in her 10-race career, Friedman said her record was deceptive.

"When she gets to the lead, she relaxes," Friedman said. "She doesn't run any faster than she has to. I won't be afraid to bring this filly anywhere."

Friedman and his wife Virginia run a true mom-and-pop outfit, breeding their own horses at Shamrock Farm in Woodbine and getting them ready for the races at the Bowie Training Center. Virginia, who walks Marias Golden Rose in the mornings, fingered her rosary throughout the race.

"I didn't know where we belonged" with Marias Golden Rose, Virginia Friedman said in the winner's circle. "I said, 'Let's try it,' " -- meaning the Pearl Necklace -- "and I think I like it, winning a race like this."

These days Friedman is getting around pretty good on an artificial knee, and now he has a horse that will keep him busy. He won the prestigious Coaching Club American Oaks with Our Cherie Amour at Belmont Park in 1972, but his barn hasn't made much noise in a while.

On Tuesday, the couple from Kent Island, Md., will celebrate their 53rd wedding anniversary, and their friends, crowded into the winner's circle, gave them a loud round of applause.

"What a nice gift," Virginia Friedman said.

Racing notes: Delightful Kiss, a 27-1 outsider, rushed powerfully to the front on the backstretch and held on to upset the Grade II $300,000 Ohio Derby at Thistledown. Ridden by Jesus Sanchez for trainer Pete Anderson, Delightful Kiss ran the 1 1/8 -mile race for 3-year-olds in 1:49.30. Heavy favorite Cowtown Cat, who came in last in the Kentucky Derby, placed fourth. . . . Jockey Ramon Dominguez traveled to Churchill Downs Saturday for a ride on perhaps the fastest horse in the country and was not disappointed as Penn National-based Fabulous Strike ripped through six furlongs in 1:07.64 to win the Grade III $150,000 Aristides Breeders' Cup. Trained by Todd Beattie, the 4-year-old gelding has now won four straight races and missed breaking the Churchill Downs track record by one-fifth of a second.