HOT SPRINGS -- It was a good way to go out.
As her jockey, trainer, and owner hoped, Miss Mosaic, a daughter of Verrazano and maternal granddaughter of Artax, made her first start as a 6-year-old the final of her career with a win in the $150,000 6-furlong American Beauty Stakes for fillies and mares 4 years old and up in 1:10.71 before an estimated crowd of 22,000 at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort on Saturday.
"Everything felt just perfect," said David Cabrera, who rode Miss Mosaic for the first time. "When I got on her, and we were warming up, I really thought, 'Wow.' The minute I felt her, I thought, 'Man, we're going to be hard to beat.' "
Miss Mosaic's trainer Ben Colebrook watched the American Beauty on television in Lexington, Ky.
"I thought she'd been training great, and there was a lot of speed in the race," Colebrook said. "It's really awesome for her to go be a mama as a stakes winner."
Team Hanley's and Parkland Thoroughbred's Joy's Rocket finished a fast-closing second by a neck, 1/2 length ahead of third-place Ain't No Elmers. Wildwood's Beauty finished fourth, 11/2 lengths behind the winner.
Miss Mosaic started at 7-1. Joy's Rocket was 9-1 and Ain't No Elmers was the 13-1 eighth choice in the field of nine.
L'il Tootsie, the 2-1 favorite, never contended for the win and finished sixth, 2 lengths behind Miss Mosaic.
Horses likely to capture front-running status in the American Beauty field were Sarah Harper and Wildwood's Beauty, though outside posts for both figured to compromise their opportunities. Several others in the race had demonstrated success as pacesetters, including Joy's Rocket, Ain't No Elmers, and Abrogate.
Sarah Harper was fifth from the gate but had a 1-length lead on Ain't No Elmers through the opening quarter-mile in 21.97 and had a 1/2 length lead on Miss Mosaic through the half in 45.72.
As the field turned into the stretch, Miss Mosaic was a length in front of Sarah Harper, who would finish seventh, 21/4 lengths behind the winner.
"She's a nice filly, but she was giving up seven pounds to some pretty seasoned, nice horses," said Ron Moquett, trainer of Sarah Harper, ridden in the American Beauty by Jon Court. "I was happy with the way she did. I think she'll come back and run a lot better."
As Sarah Harper began to fade, Joy's Rocket was in sixth, 31/4 lengths behind the Miss Mosaic, but she closed in the final 1/16th to make it close.
"We were a little late for the win, but the horse gave us a chance," said Tiago Pereira, Joy's Rocket's jockey.
"I knew they were going to have a tough time catching us," Cabrera said.
Miss Mosaic was the only American Beauty entrant with no previous Oaklawn experience. She entered with a 0-1-1 career record in six stakes starts, and Colebrook said he thought a stakes win might increase Miss Mosaic's value as a broodmare. A confirmed closer, the potential for a crowded early pace might favor Miss Mosaic's chance to win, Colebrook said.
Owner Aaron Jutte, an Ohio native and pharmaceutical salesman in Lexington, Ky., said any improvement in Miss Mosaic's breeding worthiness would be a bonus.
"Her broodmare value was already set beforehand," Jutte said. "This is just a cheery on top. I mean, she's got a huge pedigree."
Miss Mosiac's American Beauty win marked Jutte's first lifetime trip to Arkansas.
"This is a cool track," he said. "I've never been here, so I flew in here this morning, and yeah, it was a lot of fun."