SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - In five starts this year, the filly Slay the Day and Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez have become a productive team. The history led to a confident ride from Velazquez aboard Slay the Day in Sunday’s Grade 3 Soaring Softly Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf at Saratoga. Slay the Day repelled an early challenge from Alpenglow before drawing away from six rivals to win her second stakes in the $200,000 Soaring Softly. The threat was brief. Slay the Day led by a head in early stretch and was clear by 2 1/2 lengths with a furlong remaining. She won by 2 3/4 lengths. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. “I sat and waited,” Velazquez said. “I didn’t want to use her too much in the first part of the race.” A strong favorite, Slay the Day ($3.36) was timed in 1:01.02 and was given a 93 Beyer Speed Figure. Hen Party (4-1) closed from last on the inside to finish second, a half-length clear of 5-1 Cadenza, the winner of the Take the A Train Stakes at six furlongs on turf at Aqueduct on May 9. The British import Flowerhead finished fourth at 25-1, followed by Kingsolver, Should’ve and Alpenglow. Niche was withdrawn when the race remained on the turf. Hen Party trailed by nine lengths after Alpenglow set an opening quarter-mile fraction of 21.33 seconds. Hen Party trailed by eight lengths with an eighth of a mile to go, and closed well in the final sixteenth. “She’s a very talented filly,” trainer Eoin Harty said. “She needs to focus. There is more than enough” ability. Slay the Day, by Into Mischief, races for Flying Dutchman Racing and Breeding, and has won 4 of 7 starts and earned $505,238. Trained by Brian Lynch, Slay the Day has had a productive spring. She won the Grade 3 Limestone Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf at Keeneland on April 10 and then was second by a length to Cy Fair in the Grade 3 Mamzelle Stakes at Churchill Downs on April 30. Hen Party was third in the Mamzelle. Velazquez was aboard Slay the Day for her two recent starts in Kentucky as well as a second and a win in allowance races at Gulfstream Park in January and early March. Lynch said Slay the Day will be pointed to the Grade 2 Music City Stakes, a $1.5 million race for 3-year-old fillies at 6 1/2 furlongs at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 5. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.