from Standardbred Canada

Campbellville, ON — Two-year-old pacing filly Precocious Beauty turned in a 1:50.2 stakes record equalling performance in the C$451,000 She’s A Great Lady final for the father and son team of trainer Gregg and driver Doug McNair.

Sudoku (Jim Morill, Jr.) established the early lead over Gallie Bythe Beach (John Campbell) and Precocious Beauty with Ali Blue (Yannick Gingras) parked out through a :26.2 opening quarter.

Ali Blue eventually found a spot along the pylons in second while Gallie Bythe Beach swept to command down the backstretch and hit the half-mile mark in :54. She proceeded to three-quarters in 1:22.2 with Ali Blue back out launching a first over attack and Precocious Beauty hot on her heels.

McNair rolled Precocious Beauty three-wide off cover around the final turn and the streaking filly sprinted home in :27.1 to edge out Gallie Bythe Beach for the half-length victory. Beach Gal (Scott Zeron) came on for third, finishing more than three lengths behind.

Sent postward as the 6-5 favorite following her elimination victory last weekend, Precocious Beauty paid $4.60 to win. The 1:50.2 clocking also matched her lifetime mark set the weekend prior to the eliminations in a division of the Eternal Camnation Stakes and was one-fifth of a second off I Luv The Nitelife’s world record.

“When they’re going for $450,000 any horse can win it,” said Doug McNair of his expectations entering the race. “Scotty’s horse (Beach Gal) raced big last week (winning her elimination in 1:50.3). There was a big half in that race last week so they were bound to go a big mile. My filly was two seconds slower last week, but I still had a lot of faith in her and she bounced back for us tonight.”

Precocious Beauty now sports a racing record reading 4-2-0 in six career starts with earnings soaring to C$315,167. The homebred Art Major-Precious Beauty filly is owned by James Avritt of Lebanon, Ky., who broke her as a yearling before Gregg McNair picked her up and trained her down while wintering in Florida.

The Guelph, Ontario, horseman said the filly showed promise “right from the get-go.”

“She’s staked up to everything so you could tell we liked her,” he said. “She races here next Saturday night and then she gets about three weeks off and goes down to Lexington. Hopefully she races down there and then the Breeders Crown.”