Sunday, February 24, 2013
With three straight wins, Stopshoppingmaria has found her niche as a turf sprint specialist, capping her recent run on Sunday with a 1 3/4-length score in the $60,000 Ladies Turf Sprint S. at Gulfstream Park.
Stopshoppingmaria was a Eisaman sales grad from the 2011 OBS March Selected Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, where she sold for $100,000 to her trainer Todd Pletcher, as agent.
The victory was the first stakes win for Stopshoppingmaria, though the 4-year-old daughter of More Than Ready has plenty of back class, with second-place finishes in the Frizette S. (G1) and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G2) in 2010.
After tracking in second for the first half of the five-furlong Ladies Sprint, Stopshoppingmaria asserted herself in the stretch, surging clear in the final eighth-mile to get the distance in :55.48.
Owned by Repole Stable, Stopshoppingmaria has bankrolled $379,160 and is 4-3-1 in nine lifetime outings. Bred in Kentucky by Mueller Farms Inc., Stopshoppingmaria is a half-sister to the stakes winners Sand Ridge and Dootsie.