Jockey Sheldon Russell had his hands full while picking where Apple Picker would mount her rally, but the 4-year-old daughter of Connect took home a basket full of the winner’s share of a $200,000 purse in the seven-furlong Barbara Fritchie Stakes (G3) at Laurel Park Feb. 17.
Settling in last of the field of seven behind fractions of :22.83 and :45.32, Michael Dubb’s homebred began to launch her rally along the rail at the three-eighths pole. Angled toward a hole between Continentalcongres and Last Leaf at the quarter pole, the door shut and Russell pulled his mount towards the rail.
Continuing to improve down the lane, Russell had to reroute again, this time outside, to avoid fading pace challenger Beneath the Stars . Once in the clear, the brave Apple Picker surged between pacesetter Disco Ebo and the closing Last Leaf and kicked away to victory by a length in 1:25.22. Last Leaf held on to second by a head from late-running Prodigy Doll .
5 APPLE PICKER ($12.40) weaves her way thru traffic to get up and win the $200,000 Barbara Fritchie Stakes (G3) at Laurel Park. The daughter of Connect was ridden by @SheldonRussell1 and is trained by @BTRracingstable. Congrats to all the connections! pic.twitter.com/24ZcXQPyOj
— TVG (@TVG) February 17, 2024
Apple Picker paid $12.40 to win.
“That’s her running style,” trainer Brittany Russell said, “I was really happy the way she came into it. We had this race in mind for quite some time.”
Following a three-race losing streak, Brittany Russell wanted to give Apple Picker the best chance to add a graded stakes win to her résumé and decided to train up to the race rather than prep in the Jan. 26 What a Summer Stakes at Laurel. The decision proved fruitful as the new graded stakes winner increased her earnings to $330,783.
