Marketsegmentation Newest G1 Winner for American Pharoah
It was a seventh Grade I winner for Triple Crown winner American Pharoah at Belmont Park on Friday when Marketsegmentation (4f American Pharaoh x Lonelily, by Medaglia d’Oro) controlled the pace to win the Grade I New York Stakes at Belmont Park.
Racing over 1 ¼ miles on the turf, Marketsegmentation had her head in front from the first jump out of the gate. The American Pharoah daughter spent a few strides with the rest of the field before opening up over a length on the field as she galloped keenly under Jose Ortiz.
Every time Grade I winner Shantisara tried to close some distance on the filly, Marketsegmentation opened the lead back up to have a stranglehold on the race going into the stretch. Ortiz finally got to work on her just outside the final furlong with Didia closing on her but that runner couldn’t catch her in time with Marketsegmentation registering a three-quarter length win at the line and Camelot’s Flirting Bridge missing finishing third by just a nose.
"She's improved every race,” said Marketsegmentation’s owner Seth Klarman. “She's solid. She always tries. We thought she might be the only speed and it set up, and sometimes that's dangerous. To win a race like this, a Grade 1, and to have a filly advance like that and another filly that ran third, it's an exciting time."
Trained by Chad Brown, Marketsegmentation came into this race off a maiden stakes victory in the Listed Sand Springs Stakes two starts ago before securing a first graded stakes victory in the Grade III Beaugay Stakes last out. She also finished third in the Grade III Endeavour Stakes in her stakes debut earlier this year. Overall, the filly has never finished worse than third in any of her seven starts.
Brown indicated that the Grade I Diana is possibly her next target.
“She has gotten better every single race and you love to see horses like that,” he said. “You have to think about the Diana next. I think a cut [back] to a mile and an eighth wouldn't bother her at all.”
The Marcus Stables-bred filly was a $200,000 Keeneland November purchase by De Meric Stables from the James Keogh consignment in 2019.
A granddaughter of a winning full sister to European champion Fasliyev, Marketsegmentation is one of two winners for the Medaglia d’Oro mare Lonelily.
This is also the family of four-time Group I winner Misty For Me, whose three stakes winners include three-time Grade I winner Roly Poly and two-time European champion U S Navy Flag. In all, there are six Grade I winners descending from Marketsegmentation’s third dam with a further four under her fourth dam.
American Pharoah’s seven Grade I winners come in three different countries on both dirt and turf with the stallion having 15 Grade I performers in six different countries overall.