Dear Readers,
Back to the races
today, and first up the Triple Bend Handicap. Seven furlongs run on June 29th
over the synthetic cushioned track at Hollywood Park in Inglewood California.
The sixty-second running of the Triple Bend and another of the Breeders’ Cup “Win
and You’re In” Challenge Series, was won by the five year old Smarty Jones
Gelding, Centralinteligence.
Allowed to relax off the earlier leaders by
jockey Edwin Maldonado, Centralinteligence took the turn on the outside of
horses and unwound down the lane to win the race easily. It’s always impressive
to win by three and half lengths in stakes company, but somehow this race didn’t
convince me that Centralinteligence is the horse to win the Breeders Cup
Sprint. If there is enough speed burning up the front end and he gets a good
trip he will definitely be in contention nearing the wire on Breeders’ Cup Day.
Also on the same day at Hollywood Park was the Grade 1 Shoemaker
Mile, and it was contested on the turf course. This is the
last year there will be a racing meet at the Hollywood facilities; the turf
course looked like they hadn’t put a lot of work into it before the race meet
started. Dry and patchy it wasn’t a pretty backdrop for the five horse field,
although I didn’t see a cloud of dust either.
I’ve never been a fan of short fields, and in particular those races going
further than six furlongs, they tend to unfold a lot like a match race does, where the speed is very hard to catch. This race didn’t disappoint, but one
important difference—I loved
this horse. I liked the way he looked running, I like his conformation, I liked
the way he galloped along on the front end and when asked he just went faster.
The five year old Irish-bred gelding by
Choiser, was ridden with supreme confidence by his regular rider Joe Talamo.
Winning the Shoemaker Mile gives Obviously a fees-paid berth in the Breeders’
Cup Mile, a nice caveat, especially since his camp will have their collective
eye focused squarely on that particular Breeders’ Cup race.
Obviously ran third
in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Mile behind first place finisher Wise Dan who was named Horse of the Year, and Animal
Kingdom who went on to win the 2013 Dubai Cup. Those credentials alone should
give Obviously one-of-the-favorites status in the 2013 running of the Breeders’ Cup
Mile.
Benoit Photo
Thanks for reading and be sure to come back for my July
Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge Cup Series recap.
Take
care,
Shelley
Riley
Author
of Casual Lies – A Triple Crown Adventure
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