Incremental steps forward all season long paid off in a big way at Keeneland Oct. 5, as Stonestreet Stables and Peter Leidel's Zeitlos acquired her first graded stakes with a last-to-first win in the $340,125 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (G2).
Starting off the year in allowance company, trainer Steve Asmussen worked the 4-year-old daughter of Curlin up the ranks, picking up a pair of listed wins among her three previous stakes victories.
"(Zeitlos) continuously gets better," Asmussen said. "This is by far the best race (of hers) I believe."
Breaking in the back of the field of six, jockey Jose Ortiz bided his time behind stablemate Clearly Unhinged's quick pace of :21.54 and :44.57. The dirt track at Keeneland had been playing noticeably quick over the first two days of the meet, with several winners taking the field gate-to-wire.
Ortiz picked off competitors around the far turn while traveling along the rail, finding himself just behind the leaders at the quarter pole as the field turned for home. Zeitlos shot through an opening inside of Clearly Unhinged and Spirit Wind before kicking away to win by 2 3/4 lengths at the wire. She completed the six furlongs in 1:09.52.
#6 ZEITLOS ($9.46) rallies up the rail under @jose93_ortiz to win the @BreedersCup Win and You're In $350,000 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (G2) at @KeenelandRacing. The daughter of Curlin is trained by Steve Asmussen.
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) October 5, 2024
Watch more on @FanDuelTV. pic.twitter.com/IilqewgMw8
"For her to run the race she did—what felt like against the bias we watched from the dirt races in two days—it was a remarkable performance for her," Asmussen said.
Zeitlos paid $9.46 for the win. Spirit Wind finished second and Brightwork, the lone 3-year-old in the field, finished third.
The career-high success for Zeitlos pushed her earnings past the million-dollar mark, now owning purse earnings of $1,031,305 with a record of 8-4-1 from 16 starts.
Asmussen will hope those incremental improvements continue one more race as she will face her toughest task next in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) at Del Mar Nov. 2. As part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In, her victory Saturday earned her an automatic, fees-paid berth into the race.
The Breeders' Cup will be held over seven furlongs, which Asmussen believes will play toward the filly's running style.
"She does close very well," Asmussen said. "She got a nice win at 6 1/2 (furlongs) this year (in the Sept. 14 Open Mind Stakes at Churchill Downs), so I think we can get the seven-eighths."
Bred in Kentucky by Stonestreet, Zeitlos is out of Australian group 3 stakes winner Thyme For Roses (Redoute's Choice). She is the 10th graded stakes winner this season for sire Curlin, a list that includes grade 1 winners Highland Falls, Raging Sea, and Idiomatic. Curlin stood the 2024 season at Hill 'n' Dale Farms in Paris, Ky. for a fee of $250,000.
"Why would I doubt an older Curlin mare?" Asmussen said, who also trained Curlin's multiple grade 1-winning distaffer Clairiere. "Curlin does something new-level all the time."
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