SHAKOPEE, MN – After a rough go in the trials for the Mystic Lake Northlands Futurity on Saturday, trainer Stacy Charette-Hill was looking for redemption in the $20,000 Skip Zimmerman Stakes Sunday.
“I was disgusted after yesterday,” said Charette-Hill, explaining that two of the fillies she brought in for the trials were injured, one of them career ending.
“KT Perry slid on the inside,” she explained, “and she caught herself and broke her knee. I know that it’s the luck of the draw – and I’ve been on the other side of those as well – but it was still upsetting. We were able to save her and she’ll make a very good broodmare.”
But that was yesterday – today was a different story.
With jockey Jorge Torres up, Tempting Valor broke superbly and soared through the lane to the victory.
“If the 4 was out in front of me [favored Sudden Separation] I didn’t think we would outrun him,” Charette-Hill said. “I wasn’t able to at Remington but if we got the break, I thought we’d be there.”
“I knew about three or four jumps in,” said jockey Jorge Torres. “I could see Ricky Separate on one side and no one else so I just had to keep him straight and we’d be able to win.”
“He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes,” said Charette-Hill describing Tempting Valor ($8). “He’s not a lot of work. We just keep him happy, keep him in his feed and he’ll do well.”
Tempting Valor, owned by Matt Ratliff and Vicki Tebow, covered the 350 yards in 17.87 seconds. Ricky Separate ($6.60) was second and Sudden Separation ($2.40) was third.
