Bootylicious, the four-year-old bay filly bred from Key To Power and Keep The Faith, made a victorious comeback to competitive racing on Saturday, March 2, 2024. Her return, following a six-month hiatus, was marked by a win reminiscent of her last race on September 9, 2023. She took on the Overnight Allowance field for three-year-olds and upward across a five-furlong straight course.
Under the guidance of trainer Peter-John Parsard, Bootylicious bested her competitors by two lengths, clocking a quick 58.4 seconds.
"She [Bootylicious] had some slight development challenges coming through Classic races last year. We had to do what we had to do to get her into the Classics, but we got the opportunity after the Classics to get her fixed, and I think we have done that,” Parsard recounted.
Despite the prolonged break raising some doubts, Bootylicious displayed an impressive reserve of strength.
"She had a long layoff, and so we were a bit concerned that she wouldn’t be able to get the job done, but thankfully she had a little extra in the tank at the end to help hold them off for the win," Parsard added.
In her season debut, Bootylicious, with Raddesh Roman aboard for the first time, quickly took on early leaders Volatility (Paul Francis) and Phoenix Risen (Daniel Thompson). She held her position through the first half of the race and surged ahead after the dummy rails. Despite a slight swerve near the finish, she crossed the line with a two-length advantage over Ability (Youville Pinnock), who came in second, followed by Volatility in third.
Parsard, while pleased with Bootylicious's performance, noted her unease on the straight track and mentioned plans for further training.
"I thought the performance was excellent as I don’t think she likes the straight. I don’t like how she was darting up and down in the race, so we will do a little work with her to make sure she is good,” he said, hinting at a strategy to help her excel on different tracks.
"We will try to send her back around the bend. The hope is that she will develop into one of the top performers this year in the sprint division, but we will see how she progresses, and we will take it one step at a time with her,” Parsard concluded, outlining a careful and measured approach to her racing career.
