Near record performance for Beau Choix filly

It isn’t often that a first-time starter trained by Mark Casse and ridden by Paco Lopez goes to the post at odds of 53-1. But it happened yesterday with What a Beaut, a 2-year-old Beau Choix filly bred by Linda Evans who turned in one of the most awesome performances at Gulfstream Park in recent memory. 

Racing in a $60,000 maiden special at the distance of “about” 7 1/2 furlongs over the turf course, Lopez broke What a Beaut smartly from the No. 10 post and quickly had her settled in third on the rail. She moved up on the inside along the backstretch and went up to battle 3/2 favorite Hidden Facts as they turned into the lane. The stretch battle ended when What a Beaut edged away in the final yards to score by a neck. 

What made the victory more significant, other than the win price of $109, was that she finished in 1:27.92, just 28/100ths of a second off Bow Tie Affair’s course record of 1:27.64. What a Beaut became the fourth winner from eight starters for Beau Choix, and collected a check of $24,000 for owner Gary Barber.