Chocolate Gelato Second G1 Winner of Weekend for Practical Joke

It was a second Grade I winner in less than 24 hours for Practical Joke on Sunday when Chocolate Gelato (2f Practical Joke x Special Treat, by Candy Ride) won the Grade I Frizette Stakes at the Belmont at the Big A meet.

Coming into the race off an 8 ½ length Maiden Special Weight victory last out in her second start, bettors showed they thought Chocolate Gelato was more than ready for this level by making her the favorite. She broke with the field and was quickly settled a few lengths behind the leader by Irad Ortiz Jr in second-to-last as she relaxed in the slop.

As they entered the turn, Chocolate Gelato split horses as a hole opened for her and she was quickly at the leader’s throat latch.

Chocolate Gelato had to deal with You’re My Girl hustling her down the stretch but Ortiz put the whip away in the final furlong and just urged her with his hands as she kept a length in front of that rival throughout the run. As they flashed under the line, she still had that length on the second-place finisher with the rest of the field nearly four lengths adrift of the winner.

"She was there for me and at the three-eighths pole, she hit the clear and was moving forward on her own,” Ortiz said. “I had a lot of confidence in her. She's a nice filly, so I ride her with confidence. When I asked, she was there for me.”

Conditioned by Todd Pletcher for Repole Stable, Chocolate Gelato was a $475,000 purchase by her racing owner at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale earlier this year. She has now won two of her three starts with her only loss being a third on debut.

Vincent Colbert bred Chocolate Gelato out of the Candy Ride mare Special Treat, who is a granddaughter of the multiple graded stakes winner Daydreaming.

Daydreaming is also the dam of Grade I winner Imagining and two other stakes performers. The mare is a daughter of another successful racemare and broodmare in Get Lucky.

Practical Joke has now sired four worldwide Grade I winners from his first two crops. Chocolate Gelato leads his North American runners with that group including 17 stakes performers and eight stakes winners with five graded stakes performers.