Maryland Thoroughbred

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Sterling Vow surprises in Squan Song Stakes
Marilyn Ketts’s homebred Sterling Vow made a sweeping five-wide move through the turn, emerged with the lead at the eighth pole and galloped home the upset winner of the $50,000 Squan Song Stakes for Maryland-bred fillies and mares at Laurel Park on Dec. 5.

Sterling View splashed through the slopping going to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:25.54 for the seven furlongs. Finishing second, after working her way through traffic, was post time favorite Fascinatin’ Rhythm. Heaven’s Voice rallied up the rail to be third. Completing the order of finish were Lucky You, Lion’s Maddy, Prom Time, Firey Glow, My Little Pretty, Outside Lane, My Misty’s Echo and For Sally. Sterling Vow, a 4-year-old daughter of Broken Vow, carried journeyman Alberto Delgado.

The win was the first stakes victory for trainer Ronald Sweeney.

“I thought she had a good shot,” Sweeney said. “She’s been running hard all year, been running against some nice fillies up the road. We ran her here about 10 days ago (a third-place finish in an allowance race on Nov. 25) with this race in mind.” Sterling Vow paid $74.80 and delighted exacta and triple players with payoffs of $168 and $811.60, respectively.

“I knew she liked the mud,” added Delgado. “She broke very well today. I let her settle down the backstretch and everybody’s been kind of winning on the outside so I started to make my move around the turn and she responded well and proved to be best at the end.”

Sterling Vow, who pushed her earnings to $121,155 from 19 career starts, is the second foal from her dam, Silver N Satin, a daughter of Silver Deputy who is represented by three winners from three foals to race. Ketts bought Silver N Satin for $37,000 at the 2003 Keeneland November sale, in the name of her At Last Farm. Silver N Satin was carrying her first foal, the Broken Vow filly Silver Vow, at the time of the purchase; that filly is a winner of $50,938.

Silver N Satin has a yearling colt by Borrego and a weanling filly by Exchange Rate.