Blame’s 4-year-old daughter Marley’s Freedom scored her fifth victory in her last six starts when she dug in late to defeat Come Dancing by a neck in the G3 Go For Wand for fillies and mares at Aqueduct Racetrack Dec. 1.
Guided by Fall of Fame rider Mike Smith, Marley’s Freedom went to post as the 1-2 favorite and completed the one-mile distance in a final time of 1:38.35.
“Today was the first time going a mile, but she took a breath of air and once she got that second wind, she locked in and she wasn’t going to let them by no matter what,” said Smith. “We could have went around there again and they weren’t getting by her.”
Marley’s Freedom increased her earnings to $815,935 with her fourth graded stakes win of 2018 for owner Cicero Farms and Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. The filly reeled off three consecutive graded triumphs earlier this year in the G3 Desert Stormer Stakes, G2 Great Lady M Stakes, and G1 Ketel One Ballerina Stakes. She entered the Go For Wand off a game fourth-place effort in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.
Marley’s Freedom was bred in Kentucky by Jack Swain III. She is one of 13 stakes winners of 2018 for Blame, an Eclipse Champion and three-time G1 winner. Blame is also represented by G1 winner Fault, who fetched $1.2 million at this year’s Fasig-Tipton November sale. The stallion, who ranks second in his crop by lifetime graded stakes horses behind Quality Road, will stand the 2019 season for $30,000.