Sweet Goodbye Stretches Winning Streak to Five With Victory at Laurel Park

Chris Grove said farewell to standout race mare Lexi Star last Wednesday, sending her off to the breeding shed with a victory in a $40,000 allowance race at Laurel Park.

The 6-year-old, who earned $605,424 in her career, retired 10 months after Grove's barn star, Silmaril, who bowed out with $1,032,973 in earnings, 16th all-time among Maryland-breds.

Normally, such a departure would leave a gaping hole in an outfit, particularly in Maryland, where economic hard times have shifted the focus of many trainers from developing stakes horses to filling barns with mid-price claiming runners.

Grove, however, believes he has a horse to pick up right where Lexi Star and Silmaril left off. His bay filly, Sweet Goodbye, stretched her winning streak to five yesterday, setting straight out to the lead and easily defeating three other runners to take the $50,000 Northern Dancer for Maryland-bred 3-year-olds at Laurel Park.

"She does everything very easy," said Grove, 39, of Frederick, in the winner's circle. "She's wasn't even blowing when she came back. Every morning she goes two miles, and she wants to do more. She's got Lexi's size and Silmaril's heart."

Ridden by J.D. Acosta, Sweet Goodbye tugged hard at the bit coming out of the first turn following a 42-day layoff. After a first quarter-mile in 23.36 seconds, Acosta tried to slow her, pulling back on the reins and pushing forward on the stirrups as if they were car brakes.

"My saddle at the half-mile pole started slipping forward, and I said, 'That's it, I'm not going to fight with you no more,' " Acosta said in the winner's circle.

The field scratched down from eight runners to four because out-of-town horses are prevented from shipping into Laurel while the track is quarantined and combating a case of equine herpesvirus.

Two of the four remaining runners were fillies, and they finished first and second as Sweet Goodbye beat Fascinatin' Rhythm by 4 3/4 lengths, running the 1 1/16 -mile in a moderate 1:45.58 on a sloppy track.

Before Sweet Goodbye won the Maryland Million Oaks on Oct. 4, Grove suggested she may be just as good as Silmaril, and the filly's performance in the Northern Dancer gave him no reason to change his mind. She has now won five of six starts and earned $176,400.

"It's always important because you want to prove to clients and future clients that you can ride the wave and do the job," Grove said of replacing his best horses.

Sweet Goodbye has now won three straight races on the lead, but she also rallied wide from off the pace in a race in July at Philadelphia Park, showing her versatility.

Grove believes she might be ready to tackle tougher opposition and is targeting the $75,000 Ladies Handicap, a 1 1/4 -mile race Dec. 14 at Aqueduct in New York.

"We're looking for bigger and better things," he said.

Notes: Nin, the 2-year-old filly that tested positive for equine herpesvirus in the barn of King Leatherbury this past week, attempted to stand Saturday, giving hope that she might survive, according Mike Gathagan, vice president of communications at Laurel. The horse had been able to sit but not stand since being discovered down in her stall.

Test results on other horses tested in Leatherbury's barn are expected back tomorrow from the lab at the University of Maryland. Test results from the rest of the horses in the barn will follow Tuesday.