After a forgettable season at age 3 in 2023 in which she was unplaced in four starts, 4-year-old Leave No Trace is back in the graded stakes-winning form she initially displayed as a 2-year-old.
Winner of the Spinaway Stakes (G1) in 2022 and runner-up in that year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) behind champion Wonder Wheel , Leave No Trace flashed similar excellence in the $175,000 Vagrancy Stakes (G3) May 18 at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Perched just off of pacesetter Beguine through splits of :22.24 and :44.72 in the 6 1/2-furlong dirt sprint, she took command in midstretch and lasted for a three-quarter-length victory over favored Big Pond . She was timed in a swift 1:15.91 under Jose Lezcano.
LEAVE NO TRACE left no doubt in Race 9, winning the Grade 3 Vagrancy Stakes with Jose Lezcano up for trainer Phil Serpe. pic.twitter.com/57cDTHQVHt
— NYRA (🌳) (@TheNYRA) May 18, 2024
Despite her past accomplishments and a last-out allowance optional claiming victory, Leave No Trace paid a rewarding $19.60 to win.
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“The allowance race she won in her last start kept her at the races rather than in the breeding shed,” said trainer Phil Serpe. “I thought this was the right group of fillies that if she could beat this group it would get her to the next level.”
Hot Fudge rallied to grab third, passing Beguine late.
The WellSpring Stables-owned winner, a dark bay or brown filly by Outwork out of the Good Journey mare Tanquerray , Leave No Trace is perfect in four starts on dirt at seven furlongs or shorter compared to being winless in seven other starts.
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