FIRST SAMURAI’s Grade 2 winning daughter Plum Ali started 2022 just how she ended 2021 – with a stakes win. Making her first start since her Winter Memories Stakes victory last November, she added the Plenty of Grace Stakes to her record Saturday at Aqueduct, highlighting the four winners her sire FIRST SAMURAI saw on Saturday.
The field stayed compact over the one-mile turf race with Plum Ali only two lengths off the leader early on with Manny Franco keeping her restrained. It wasn’t until the final quarter mile that she was able to show what is to come in her 4-year-old season as she raced after the leaders a few paths off the rail.
The final furlong saw the chestnut make a strong move to grab the lead in the final sixteenth and start pulling away from runner up and multiple graded stakes winner Technical Analysis in the end.
“I just dropped my filly in and she was nice and relaxed,” Franco said. “When I tipped out at the quarter pole, I knew she would respond and she got it done. Man, I think she came back stronger and has a really bright future ahead of her after this race.”
Trained by Christophe Clement, Plum Ali is owned by Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables and Michael Caruso. The filly has won five of her 12 starts with two other top three finishes with $731,000 in earnings.
A Kentucky-bred for Stone Farm, the FIRST SAMURAI runner is out of a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Meribel and stakes winner Knox. This is also the family of Champion Female Sprinter Informed Decision.
Plum Ali has a 2-year-old full sister named Heiress and a yearling MASTERY half-brother.