Eight-year-old veteran Rahystrada turned back the clock and picked up another victory in the $200,000 Arlington Handicap (gr. III), holding off a late run from favored Boisterous to win the ten-furlong turf event for the second time.
Ridden to victory by Joel Rosario, Rahystrada got off to a good start and raced away to secure the early lead from Cherokee Lord, with Nikki's Sandcastle right behind them in third. There was a gap of several lengths back to Mister Marti Gras in fourth, and another gap back to Proceed Bee and Sky Blazer. Mavericking, Boisterous, and Vertiformer were the early trailers.
Down the backstretch, the positions remained relatively unchanged with the exception of Mavericking, who made a long and bold run along the rail to reach second place as the field entered the homestretch. However, Rahystrada had plenty left in the tank after setting fractions of :24.15, :48.51, 1:13.19, and 1:38.11, and quickly turned back Mavericking's bid to open up a clear lead. Boisterous put in a good run on the far outside and had every chance at victory, but Rahystrada held him off in good fashion to win the race by a neck in 2:01.84.
Mister Martia Gras got up by a nose over Vertiformer for third, with Mavericking another nose behind in fifth. For the winner, his next start may come in the Arlington Million (gr. I) next month, a race in which he finished fourth last year.
-Keelerman
No comments:
Post a Comment