By
Ken Weingartner
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Agent Q moved alongside leader Brazuca on the final turn and pulled away from the field to win Saturday’s $165,700 Mistletoe Shalee for 3-year-old filly pacers by two lengths in a stakes- and track-record equaling 1:48.4 at the Meadowlands.
Idyllic Beach finished second and Awash was
third.
Sent off as the 1-5 favorite, Agent Q and
driver David Miller were fourth in the race’s early stages as Brazuca led the
fillies to the opening quarter in :26.4 and half in :54.3. By that time, Agent
Q was on the move first over and was a quarter-length from the lead when the
field reached three-quarters in 1:21.4.
Agent Q’s time equaled the track and stakes
record set by Dancinwiththestarz in 2010.
“She’s just been unbelievable the last few
weeks,” co-owner Bill Rochetti Jr. said. “It’s so fun to watch.”
Agent Q has won five of eight races this year
and earned $379,124 and her victories this season also include the Lynch
Memorial. For her career, she has won eight of 18 races and finished worse than
third only once on her way to banking $817,828.
The daughter of Western Terror-Teenage Paige,
trained by Chris Ryder, is owned by Martin Scharf, Rochetti Cassar Racing and
Robert Muscara.
Agent Q paid $2.60 to win.
