(August 3, 2002) - Under a very patient ride by jockey Don Pettinger, Bien Nicole changed her running style in the $50,000 stake, and it proved to be a winning move Saturday night at Retama Park.

"We wanted to get her to relax a little bit, so I had her settle early on," said Pettinger. "I did not want to be that far back, but she has a lot of class and was able to get the job done. When I asked, she responded coming off the turn," he added.

With Rum Bird and Outofnowhere setting fast fractions of 46.1 for a half-mile, Wolfnik was in an excellent stalking position behind the leaders when they went into the far turn. At the quarter pole Wolfnik grabbed the lead and was running easily, but the lead was soon to be in doubt.

Bien Nicole, the 7-5 favorite, was next to last going down the backstretch and trailing 12 lengths behind the leaders after three-quarters of a mile. When the four-year-old filly kicked into high gear and came to even terms with Wolfnik at the 1/8th pole, it impressed the 4,781 in attendance.

The final 200 yards was all Bein Nicole who drew off by an ever-widening two lengths. Running time for the one-mile and one-sixteenth was 1.41, just one tick off the track record.

For the first two nights of the 2002 Thoroughbred Meet, Retama Park is averaging 4,675 in attendance and $1,300,000 in wagering from all sources on its live product.