Twirling Aces stays unbeaten with front-running Ellis Park victory

Twirling Aces answered her first test away from Churchill Downs with authority, breaking on top at Ellis Park and never giving the rest of the field a chance to reel her in. The unbeaten filly won Race 8 on July 9 by 4 1/4 lengths in 1:22.91, a front-running performance that looked more like a horse learning how to win than one simply enjoying a hot start.

The seven-furlong allowance for 3-year-old fillies carried a $102,000 purse, and Twirling Aces was the 6-5 favorite after her June 3 maiden special weight victory at Churchill Downs. She had won that six-furlong debut by 2 3/4 lengths in 1:09.60, and the Ellis Park effort showed she could carry that speed another furlong without losing her grip on the race. The daughter of Twirling Candy out of the Medaglia d’Oro mare Kidoro went straight to the front, controlled the pace, and stayed clear through the stretch.

Ben Curtis rode Twirling Aces for trainer Brendan P. Walsh, who won his fourth consecutive race on the Ellis Park card with the filly’s victory. Pocket Aces Racing LLC owns her, and Dell Ridge Farm, LLC bred her in Kentucky. Bet the Gray, by Essential Quality, finished second in the allowance, a race that also included other Kentucky-bred fillies from notable barns.

The official result left Twirling Aces with a perfect record from two starts and $113,560 in earnings, a useful marker for a filly still early in her career. More than the unbeaten line, though, the Ellis Park win showed a second dimension: she did not need a bumpy trip, a late run, or a dramatic setup to win. She made the race her own from the break, and that kind of pace control is what turns a promising young filly into one worth tracking as the stakes races for her division start to sharpen the summer picture.