Evvie Jets used her pace advantage to perfection Sunday to pull off a minor upset in the $97,000 Plenty of Grace Stakes at Aqueduct.
The lone speed on paper, Evvie Jets, under Eric Cancel, established a one-length advantage through a half-mile in 49.69 seconds, six furlongs in 1:13.18 and had enough left to fend off a challenge from Whitebeam to win the Plenty of Grace by a neck. It was 1 3/4 lengths back to Runaway Rumour in third.
The win was the fifth from 18 starts for Evvie Jets, a 5-year-old daughter of Twirling Candy. She has gone 4 for 11 with two stakes victories since being claimed for $80,000 by trainer Mertkan Kantarmaci on behalf of Robert Amendola in Sept. 2021. Amendola died last November, but his son Michael has kept the stable of existing horses going.
“It’ll be a special win for us, my dad was definitely with us today and I know he’s happy with everything these guys are doing for the horse,” Michael Amendola said. “It’s a good day.”
Evvie Jets broke sharp from post 2 and was able to open up a clear lead while being chased by Runaway Rumour with Malavath, the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Mile runner-up, sitting third along the rail under Jose Ortiz and Whitebeam fourth.
Around the turn, Malavath backed up and Runaway Rumour wasn’t keeping up turning for home. Evvie Jets turned for home with a clear advantage and was able to hold Whitebeam at bay at the wire.
Bred by Farfellow Farm, Evvie Jets was sold by Hidden Brook Farm at the 2019 Keeneland September yearling sale.
