Not This Time’s brilliant 4-year-old filly Just One Time ran down Grade 1 winner Bell’s the One in the final strides of the $500,000 Madison S. (G1) on a cold Saturday afternoon at Keeneland.
Just One Time has been magnificent in her entire career, with but one loss in seven career outings. She most recently won the Jan. 29 Inside Information S. (G2) at Gulfstream Park, and collected a pair of stakes wins in 2021.
Her connections expected to be close to the early pace in the seven-furlong Madison, but a tardy start left her near the back of the nine-horse field. Lady Rocket set a lively pace of :22.11 and :44.50. Midway on the turn, Bell’s the One rolled past Just One Time, leaving her in last approaching the quarter-pole. Moved to the outside by Flavien Prat, Just One Time found her best stride in the final furlong, surging past Bell’s the One to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:22.79 on a muddy racetrack.
“It worked out today,” trainer Brad Cox said. “Obviously, there was a hot pace up front, but it’s not ideal. We’d like to break and be a little more involved. That’s how she was before she came to us. We put a starting gate blanket on her today, and honestly it didn’t help her a whole lot getting away from there.”
Cox trains the chestnut filly for Warriors Reward LLC (also her breeder) and Commonwealth New Era Racing. Saturday’s win raised her earnings to $525,195.
Not This Time entered the day as the leading Third-Crop sire of 2022 with more than $3.1 million in progeny earnings. Among his stakes winners this year are Kentucky Derby (G1) hopefuls Epicenter and Simplification and the promising 3-year-old filly Midnight Stroll. Not This Time is the sire of six graded winners and 18 stakes winners overall from his first three crops.