Edge Hopper surprises Air Line(G3) mile, recovers old spunk
New York– Edge Hopper was one to be reckoned with in 2004. The Danzig daughter performed at the topmost level as a sophomore, bagging three Grade 1s and even racing against colts in the Bluegrass Derby (6th to Granhee).
Alas though, 2005 has not been terribly kind to jake’s racemare. From 13 starts, she only appeared at the stakes level 8 times. The remainder of her racing minutes belonged to the allowance ranks, where she handily recorded 5 victories on class alone.
What happened? Zigzagging in and out of the ranks, poor Edge Hopper seemed ready to say “Sayonara!” to this season. The filly couldn’t find her old self in the stakes ranks — often close, but rarely a winner and even sandwiched in a couple puzzling also-ran outings. Time for the breeding shed?
Well, that was all rendered moot though last Saturday when Edge Hopper shed her old skin and brought forth a mighty wallop in the Grade 3 $150,000 Air Line Handicap. The 4YO filly gamely outran fellow closer and racetime favorite Homecoming Dance (baileybarn) to the wire. She was a $10.00 longshot, yet zipped the main track mile in a superb 1:34 4/5.
Edge Hopper marked the day as her 16th triumph from 28 lifetime trips. She’s getting up there in her Sim twilight years, but with $2M in the bank, Edge Hopper can go out laughing. Perhaps we’ll see her some more as a 5YO.