Wedding Is The Toast After First Grade One Win

Wedding Toast made all to gain a first Grade One success when capturing the US$1-million Ogden Phipps Stakes unchallenged at Belmont Park, USA, on Saturday, June 6.

The five-year-old Street Sense mare beat champion Untapable by five lengths in great style over an extended mile on dirt.

Trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, Wedding Toast was taken to the front by Jose Lezcano soon after the start.

Racing on the inside, the Godolphin mare set a steady pace for the first half-mile but quickened turning in and, once straightening up, went away to finish clear of Untapable who just held on the second.

Wedding Toast, who won in 1m 40.21s, has now been successful seven times from 11 starts.

Kiaran McLaughlin commented: "Jose made a great decision to go to the lead. I told him we were hoping to be laying third. He said, 'I'll cover up and we'll be laying third.'

"There didn't look like there was a lot of pace, so he made a great decision when the gates opened. Around the turn when Untapable was moving three wide, I was a little bit concerned but we had a lot of run and opened up quick turning for home.

"You have to make decisions. We can talk about it on paper, but it worked out great. They let her go easy and that was the difference. Jose deserves a lot of credit.

"Wedding Toast is a very nice mare. My brother Neal and his wife, Trish, up at Saratoga, have done a real good job with her. She's been up there training."

"She's a nice homebred and it is good to win for Godolphin. It was a great race."

The jockey said: "I thought Princess Violet would go on and I'd be sitting second with Untapable in third, but nobody wanted to go.

"Wedding Toast went to the lead very easily. She just galloped along and, when I asked her, she gave me the kick I needed to win the race."