Yesterday was a tremendous day of Thoroughbred racing. Lots of interesting races, lots of old names in the undercards, but I'll keep the focus on the 3YOs:
In the Gotham at Aqueduct, it was
Morello with a 96 Beyer:
http://www.brisnet.com/cgi-bin/insta...e=inc&print=on
https://twitter.com/i/status/1500238728433860611
The colt by
Classic Empire stalked the pace and won easily. Classic Emire is a son of
Pioneerof The Nile (same sire as
American Pharoah) was a 2YO champion and seems to have thrown some good ones who are maturing nicely at 3.
This Beyer was 4 points better than the filly analog won by
Venti Valentine who ran impressively at her 3YO debut with a 92 Beyer.
In the Fountain of Youth Stakes,
Simplification won in an accident marred race, and received a 96 Beyer:
http://www.brisnet.com/cgi-bin/insta...e=inc&print=on
Here is a video of (most of) the race, with a spanish race call, but the accident clip removed.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1500250612516147202
I provide it because the #2 Simplification's move from the backstretch (in traffic), to the far outside (widest of all) to the front, should be appreciated.
Most replays cut out the accident, but I found a copy of the clip if you want to see it. No horses or jockeys were injured:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1500245512083156998
The filly division, the Davona Dale, was won by
Kathleen O, who received an 85 Beyer:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1500471349122408457
BTW,
Davona Dale was a super racehorse!!
Now, the most impressive 3YO of the day was in the San Felipe, won by
Forbidden Kingdom, for which he was awarded a 98 Beyer:
http://www.brisnet.com/cgi-bin/insta...e=inc&print=on
https://twitter.com/i/status/1500244958128885774
Forbidden Kingdom did it the hard way; he went to the front and didn't look back. And he did it in a good time and was never challenged. I was waiting for him to get leg weary, but it didn't happen. In his last race he was head to head in the stretch and lasted. It was not nearly that close. This horse is getting stronger. And NO, he is not a Baffert horse; he eats Baffert horses. He is a
myRaceHorse horse, which means he has a ton of owners too. kudos to the many. It will be a fun story as this goes forward.
The filly analog of the San Felipe, the Santa Ysabel, runs today.
Don't feel too badly for Baffert, he unveiled another monster named
Taiba yesterday:
http://www.brisnet.com/cgi-bin/insta...e=inc&print=on
Taiba received a 103 Beyer on what must have been a tiring track, which makes Forbidden Kingdom's race more impressive.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1500384527486750721
This Gun Runner 3YOC cost $1.7M and won in his first lifetime start.
In the Battaglia, in a surprise (to me)
Tiz The Bomb appeared and won:
http://www.brisnet.com/cgi-bin/insta...e=inc&print=on
https://twitter.com/i/status/1500281771476361216
The win was by a vanishing neck over
Stolen Base; however he still gets the 10 KYD Points!
Note that the surface at Turfway Park is synthetic and tends to play more like turf, which is Tiz The Bomb's specialty.
I have no Beyer but the time seems a bit slow.
Larry
DevilHorse