Free As A Bird flies home at Saratoga

Like red wine, Hard Spun's daughter Free As A Bird seems to be getting better with age. The five-year-old has won five of seven 2014 starts - four consecutive Stakes events - including the Listed Smart N Fancy on August 25th at Saratoga racetrack in Saratoga Springs, New York. Ever consistent, she's now won or placed in 16 of 20 career races.

In today's five and one-half furlong turf event, the usually forward-placed Free As A Bird found herself third from last for the better part of the backstretch. As the field entered the stretch, jockey Joel Rosario called on his patience as there was a wall of horses in front of he and his charge late down the stretch. It wasn't until the wire that the hard-running filly hit the front for her latest Stakes victory.

Free As A Bird is a daughter of G3 Forward Gal Stakes winner and G1 Ashland Stakes-placed Take The Cake, also the dam of Stakes winner Let Me Entertain U. She is a homebred for Elizabeth Jones Valando.

Returning to Darley in America for the 2015 breeding season after spending a year at Darley in Japan, Hard Spun is having his best year on record. In 2014, his son Hardest Core ran a brilliant race to win the G1 Arlington Million while other son Wicked Strong won the Wood Memorial and then finished second by the shortest of margins in the G1 Travers on August 23rd.  Daughter Hard Not To Like captured the G1 Jenny Wiley at Keeneland completing a G1 hat trick for her sire who now has sired a total of 32 added-money winners to date. Hard Spun's two other G1 winners are Eclipse Champion Questing and Zo Impressive. His 13 total Group or Graded winners include Big John B, winner of the Del Mar Handicap on August 24th.