Ozara (IRE) rallies to first black type victory in Wait A While S.

Cheyenne Stable LLC’s Ozara scored by a neck in Saturday’s $100,000 Wait A While S. at Gulfstream Park to give the 2-year-old filly her first stakes win in just her fourth lifetime start.

The bay filly was covered up between horses for most of the trip before finding an opening three-wide coming into the homestretch. She ran down pacesetter Great Venezuela to get the lead inside the final furlong, then gamely held off the late-closing Milliat (IRE) to earn the victory.

The final time for the 7 ½-furlongs on the firm turf was 1:27.36, less than a second off the track record.

“From the very beginning we liked her a lot,” said assistant Miguel Clement, assistant to his father Christophe. “She won rather impressively at Saratoga. We were ambitious running her in the Natalma (G1, Sept. 16 at Woodbine) and perhaps unlucky not to get her black type. Nevertheless, she got the job done today.”

All four of Ozara’s races have come on the grass. After winning her Saratoga debut in early August, she was fourth in the Natalma, then a good second in the $135,000 Chelsea Flower Oct. 27 at Aqueduct. The Wait A While victory boosted her earnings to $162,132.

Ozara captures the 2023 Wait A While S. at Gulfstream Park - Ryan Thompson photo
Ozara captures the 2023 Wait A While S. at Gulfstream Park - Ryan Thompson photo