After a stewards’ inquiry and both trainer and jockey objections from the connections of Sheer Drama, House Rules was kept up to earn a much-deserved first graded stakes win. Trained originally by Hall of Famer Allen Jerkens, the dark bay broke her maiden by 5 3/4 lengths over this track and trip last January before finishing second to ill-fated ‘TDN Rising Star’ Onlyforyou (Malibu Moon) in the GII Davona Dale S. on this card 12 months ago. She was second by a neck in the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks in March, but was off the board in both the GI Acorn S. and GI Mother Goose S. at Belmont in June before being transferred to Jerkens’s son Jimmy. House Rules resurfaced to air by 6 1/2 lengths in a Saratoga allowance Aug. 17, but was last in the GI Cotillion S. at Parx in September behind champion Untapable (Tapit). She bounced back again to air in the slop at Aqueduct Nov. 6, but again came up empty when stepped up in class for that venue’s Nov. 29 GIII Comely S. House Rules had last been seen romping by 9 1/4 lengths over this distance and surface in the Jan. 2 Bal Harbour H. The second choice here settled under Javier Castellano in fifth and in the clear before advancing four deep after a half in :45.95. She put a head in front of Sheer Drama with favored Wedding Toast battling on along the rail, and shifted over in midstretch once clear, forcing Sheer Drama to take up. Sheer Drama gathered herself up to nab second from the chalk, but never seriously threatened the winner. “It’s great. [A graded-stakes win] always helps her value and she’s well bred on top of it,” offered Jimmy Jerkens. “Every little bit helps.” He added, “All of her races here in Florida have been terrific. The races here with my father were as good as she’s running now. We just have to get her to duplicate them in New York.” House Rules hails from a family that includes a number of Argentinian Group 1 winners.
