Last Friday and Saturday, several races of importance to the 2011 Triple Crown Trail were run. Last week's feature race was the LeComte Stakes at Fair Grounds, but the most promising race run was an allowance race at Gulfstream Park on Friday. The heavy favorite was Soldat, and he ran like a heavy favorite should. But before I discuss his race, I must recap the LeComte.
FEATURE RACE RECAP: The LeComte Stakes (gr. III)
This was to be the Justin Philip show. The even-money favorite was fully expected to run his four inferior foes into the ground. He was supposed to draw away to an easy victory.
Instead, his four rivals made him look inferior.
Fastest out of the gate was Pants On Fire, who raced away to set the pace by a length over Justin Philip. The latter had broken poorly but was a bit rank, racing up on the outside to contend with Pants On Fire. Following him closely was Action Ready, with Wilkinson biding his time in fourth and longshot Mobeetie trailing the field.
The opening quarter mile was run in a reasonable :24 4/5, during which Justin Philip took the first turn four wide. Pants On Fire was getting a perfect trip and would have every chance in the stretch. He continued to lead the field through slow fractions of :48 4/5 and 1:13 3/5. However, approaching the quarter pole, things were changing rapidly. Wilkinson had been moving up gradually and was now second. Action Ready had moved up to third, while Justin Philip was going in reverse and was fourth, with only Mobeetie beaten.
Pants On Fire turned for home with the lead and appeared to be on his way to victory. But Wilkinson stayed with him stubbornly through the stretch. Under urging from jockey Garrett Gomez, Wilkinson began to close the gap inside the eighth pole. On the inside of Pants On Fire they edged closer and closer. Pants On Fire was game to the wire, but Wilkinson got up just in time to win by a head.
Pants On Fire finished five lengths clear of third-place finisher Action Ready, who finished another 6 1/4 lengths in front of Mobeetie. Justin Philip finished a well-beaten last, 14 1/4 lengths behind the winner.
The complete results. . .
1 Wilkinson
2 Pants On Fire
3 Action Ready
4 Mobeetie
5 Justin Philip
. . . versus my selections.
1 Justin Philip
2 Pants On Fire
3 Wilkison
4 Mobeetie
5 Action Ready
I was extremely disappointed by Justin Philip's performance. But credit must be given to Wilkinson and Pants On Fire, both of whom ran exceptional races.
OTHER RACE RESULTS
As I mentioned above, the most impressive performance by a three-year-old last week did not come in the LeComte. Rather, it came in a nine-furlong allowance race at Gulfstream Park.
The heavy favorite was Soldat. He broke well. He went to the lead. He kicked clear and won by 10 3/4 lengths.
That was all there was to it.
Cool Blue Red Hot tried to run with him. He gamely tracked Soldat in second through the entire race, biding his time as the favorite rattled off testing fractions of :24 1/5, :48 1/5, and 1:12 flat over the sloppy track. For a moment they were heads apart, three eighths of a mile from home. Then Soldat, who had not raced since finishing second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (gr. II), turned back Cool Blue Red Hot. With immense power he drew off, winning by nearly eleven lengths in 1:49 1/5.
Cool Blue Red Hot, eight lengths clear of the remainder of the field passing the eighth pole, tired late in the stretch but still finished 1 3/4 lengths clear of third-place finisher Beamer. Mas Trueno, Lauburu, Financial Empire, and Halo's Thunder trailed the field. It is obvious that Soldat is a serious Triple Crown countender. The only question that remains is if he can run on a fast dirt track. I feel he can.
In the Groovy Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park, the odds-one favorite was Aces N Kings. The gelding was making his three-year-old debut. As a two-year-old, he had won his first five starts before losing three in a row due to variety of circumstances. A fine sprinter, he was fully expected to defeat his eleven rivals in the seven-furlong stakes event. The only horse who could remotely come close to defeating him was the second choice, Tamtastic, at 1.70-1.
The third choice was 13.30-1. That's how heavily favored the two favorites were.
As expected, it came down to Aces N Kings and Tamtastic in a thrilling finish. Aces N Kings broke well and raced away to set the pace. He was followed by Sand Dusty and Tamtastic, who were just heads apart in second. Powerfully was racing in fourth, followed by Bella's Quest, Hidden Recipe, Grand Move, and Ali's Legend, who were just heads apart. Secret Admiral was ninth, Road Hawk tenth, Pacheco eleventh, and Mr. Woodrow trailed the field.
The opening quarter mile was run in a strong :22 4/5. Aces N Kings was setting a legitimate pace. He continued to run strongly through a :46 1/5 half-mile. But Tamtastic had moved to within a half-length of him and the battle was on with only three-eighths of a mile remaining.
Aces N Kings was asked for more run and he responded. He began to draw clear of Tamtastic, increasing his lead through the early part of the stretch. Passing the eighth pole, he held a two-length lead and appeared to be on his way to an easy victory.
But Tamtastic had another run left in him. He began to eat up the ground between himself and the favorite, cutting into the favorite's lead with every stride.
Aces N Kings was tiring, as witnessed by his slow :13 3/5 final eighth of a mile. But he was courageous to the end and held off Tamtastic for a half-length victory, completing the seven furlongs in 1:25 flat.
Mr. Woodrow, who was running last with three-eighths of a mile to run, rallied impressively through the stretch to finish third, just a half-length behind Tamtastic. Hidden Recipe rallied for fourth.
The complete results were. . .
1 Aces N Kings
2 Tamtastic
3 Mr. Woodrow
4 Hidden Recipe
5 Alli's Legend
6 Pacheco
7 Sand Dusty
8 Bella's Quest
9 Secret Admiral
10 Powerfully
11 Road Hawk
12 Grand Move
It wasn't an Eclipse-champion performance, but it underlined the fact that Aces N Kings is an exceptional three-year-old capable of winning many stakes races. As he is a gelding, we will hopefully be able to follow his career for many more years.
In the Sweetest Chant Stakes at Gulfstream Park, which I already briefly discussed in a previous post, odds-on favorite Kathmanblu, winner of the Golden Rod Stakes (gr. II), rallied strongly to win the one-mile turf event by a 1 1/4 lengths.
Longshot War Prospector broke well and raced away to a decisive early lead, running the first quarter of a mile in :23 1/5 while clear by three lengths. Nina Fever, who usually races on the lead, was content to sit back in second. She was followed by Tiger Girl in third, with Excited racing in a good spot fourth. Kathmanblu was fifth, with Holidaysatthefarm, Bellaridge, and Michelle's Trip trailing the field.
Now, it isn't common for a horse to open up a three length lead so early in a race. It is even more uncommon for a horse to extend that lead as the race goes on. But War Prospector broke those rules as she continued to extend her lead. After passing the half-mile pole in :47 2/5, she led the field by eight lengths. Behind her, the positions remained relatively unchanged.
War Prospector was beginning to show signs of tiring after running three quarters of a mile in 1:13 flat. Her third quarter was run in a slow :25 3/5. But she still had a seven length lead with only a quarter mile left to run.
However, that seven length lead evaporated quickly. Kathmanblu turned on the afterburners and went from nine lengths behind to a head in front in just an eighth of a mile. Excited was gamely staying with her, but was unable to match strides. Kathmanblu gradually extended her lead during the final eighth, hitting the wire 1 1/4 lengths in front of Excited, completing the race in 1:39 flat. It was another 10 3/4 lengths further back to Nina Fever, who finished in a dead-heat for third with Holidaysathefarm. Bellaridge came home fifth, with War Prospector dead-heating for sixth with Michelle's Trip. Tiger Girl ran last.
Finally, it's worth noting that in a maiden claiming race at Santa Anita Park on January 22nd, Minutesandtouches finally broke his maiden. The heavy favorite, he had lost every one of his eight starts but had finished third in the grade III Hollywood Juvenile Champion Stakes in July last year. In a wire-to-wire performance, he won by 2 ¼ lengths in 1:37 2/5 after setting quick fractions. He’s definitely one to keep an eye on.
Tomorrow, I shall post my thoughts on the Holy Bull Stakes, as well as discuss many of the other fabulous races to be run this weekend. I’ll even briefly discuss the Sunshine Millions races, even though they aren’t Triple Crown prep races.
It’s going to be a fun weekend! Enjoy the races!
-Keelerman
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