Belmont at Big A: La Mehana rallies to win by a neck in the Waya

Photo:

NYRA / Adam Coglianese / Coglianese Photo

LSU Stables’ La Mehana made a late bid up the rail under
Kendrick Carmouche to capture Friday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Waya Stakes, a 1 3/8-mile
inner-turf test for fillies and mares at Belmont at the Big A.

Trained by Christophe Clément, the 5-year-old daughter of Al
Wukair notched her first graded win after finishing third this year in both the
Orchid (G3) at Gulfstream Park and Sheepshead Bay (G3) at Aqueduct to go along
with a third in the Prix de Royallieu (G1) in September 2023 at ParisLongchamp.
She improved off a last-out fifth after stumbling at the start of the Robert G.
Dick Memorial (G3) in July at Delaware Park.

Click here for Belmont at Aqueduct entries and results.

“She’s a good filly,” Clément said. “She’s never run a bad
race in the states. She ran very well (at Gulfstream). She got unlucky. She
stumbled that day. She has a small issue with the gate, but maybe she’s too old
now to change anything. She stumbled really badly at Delaware.”

La Mehana emerged from post 2 in the six-horse field and was
bumped by stablemate Avenue Niel to her inside as the expected pacesetter Idea
Generation made the lead and reached the half-mile in 51.40 seconds over the
firm footing. She widened her margin past the wire for the first time with
Immensitude tracking 1 1/2 lengths back in second.

Carmouche was patient aboard La Mehana and held her in last up
the backstretch as Idea Generation did the heavy lifting through three-quarters
of a mile in 1:16.96 and one mile in 1:41.80. Approaching the final turn
Beautiful Love was given her cue with an outside move by Hall of Famer Joel
Rosario. Post-time favorite McKulick was under a strong ride from Irad Ortiz
Jr. with plenty of work left to do from the rear of the field.

Carmouche cut the corner with La Mehana, and the rail was
wide open for him to send his charge through at the weakening pacesetter, who
relinquished command to the oncoming Immensitude with 1 1/4 miles elapsed in
2:05.78. Avenue Niel and Beautiful Love inched closer down the center of the
course, but it was La Mehana who had the superior momentum along the rail to
get up in the final strides and nail Immensitude by a neck with a final time of
2:17.64.

Beautiful Love finished another 1 1/4 lengths back in third
while a half-length better than Avenue Niel. McKulick and Idea Generation
completed the order of finish. Surprisingly and Star Fortress as well as main
track-only entrants Movie Moxy, Amanda’s Folly and Peak Popularity were
scratched.

Clément said he was pleasantly surprised by the late surge
from the often prominent La Mehana.

“I did think she was going to be a little bit closer, but
she ran great. She’s never showed that good of a kick before, so I guess when
you wait, she shows a better kick. Maybe we learned something,” Clément said.
“She was always very forward in all her races in Europe (and) with me, too.
Today Kendrick was very patient. He never gave up, and she ran great.”

Carmouche said La Mehana felt like a winner throughout.

“They weren’t going as slow as they usually go. I thought
they were going a little bit quicker than 25 or 26 and 52. I thought they were
going at a pretty good clip and my horse was on the bit the whole time,”
Carmouche said. “I had horse the whole way. I was just hoping everything opened
up, and everybody pitched out, and she just exploded through there. She didn’t
break as sharp as I wanted her to, but that’s OK. Clément horses usually have a
good run the last quarter if you tuck them in.”

Clément added a likely next target for La Mehana is the 1
3/8-mile, $300,000 Long Island (G3) on Nov. 10 at Aqueduct.

Bred in France by S.A. Haras du Mezeray, La Mehana banked
$110,000 in victory and improved her lifetime record to 16: 6-1-3. The $430,503
purchase at the 2023 Arqana December breeding-stock sale returned $21.20 for a
$2 win wager.

Alvarado said Immensitude, who was stretching out from a
third-place effort in the one-mile-and-70-yard, listed One Dreamer on Sept. 5
at Kentucky Downs for Hall of Fame conditioner Bill Mott, put forth an
admirable performance.

“She was stretching out that far for the first time, and I
thought she was going to be laying up close. I sat a nice trip right behind the
leader, and when I asked her turning for home, she responded very well,”
Alvarado said. “To be honest I never thought somebody could come through the
rail at that point. I thought if somebody comes, it would be on the outside. My
filly ran a very good race. She never quit on me. She gave me all she got. She
just got outrun the last few jumps.”