Naughty Me flourishing at Presque Isle Downs

Naughty Me reinforced her affinity for the all-weather track at Presque Isle Downs yesterday with a stylish six-furlong victory under Pablo Morales.

The 4-year-old filly became Handsome Mike’s 35th winner of 2020, and her love for the surface resulted in her being sent off at odds of 2/5. Naughty Me has started 17 times in her career, posting a record of 5-1-6; at Presque Isle she’s 3-0-2-1 in six tries.

The filly bred by Beth Bayer stalked the early pace through speedy fractions of :22.38 and :45.33, but when Morales attempted to slip her through on the inside down the backstretch, the hole closed and she was forced to steady, dropping back a couple of lengths. But Morales revved her up again and she grabbed the lead in the stretch, then pulled away to prevail by nearly two lengths in 1:09.95.

Naughty Me earned a check for $14,400, increasing her lifetime total to $135,311, third best among Handsome Mike’s runners, and solidifying his hold on ninth place on Florida’s leading sire list.