The Clark Stakes- $100.000 Purse
PIM- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile On The Turf
April 18, 2015

Despite coming in here with an impressive resume and being tabbed as our favorite, Clueless was made just a 5/1 shot in the morning line, and had his odds actually increase to 7/1 at the track, and become the second longest shot on the board.  So this five year old horse by Square Edge actually did have something prove here, and to leave the bettors, and you can’t resist the pun, feeling a little clueless.   That was the story of the day, and Clueless would show he was the class of the field in the first ever running of The Clark Stakes for Mb Stables.   The winning jockey was J Pimentel, and the winning time of 1:32.95 represents a new track record.  Congratulations to all of the connections!  Here is the run down!

1st- 6- Clueless (7/1)- Our eventual winner looked good right from the start, running with the Chapter In The Fog for the run up to the turn.  The Mb Stables trained entry could not quite get as ideal of a running lane as did Chapter In The Fog, so he lost about a length in the turn while needing to run three wide.  Like a horse who has been in big races before, Clueless patiently advanced on Chapter In The Fog, and completed the pass at the top of the stretch.  All that was left would be to hold that advantage, and be ready for any push from any closers.  But there would not really be any significant late charges here, and while I don’t want to say he coasted to the wire, he did win like a champion racehorse should in a race like this.  Doing so, at these way too high odds.  If you’re cashing a ticket, congrats on not giving up on him.  Congrats also to all of the connections involved in the win.

2nd- 5- Chapter In The Fog (5/2)- Quickest of them all out of the gate for Hippyheart, and was able to get a good position along the rail in time for the turn.  Maintained this lead for the early portions of the race, setting the opening quarter time in :23 3/5, and the half in :46 4/5.  He had Clueless breathing down his back the entire time and fought for a while trying to hold him off, abut was unable too.  Had no problems maintaining second.

3rd- 4- The All Blacks (4/1)- Started well out of the gate.  S Russell opted to sit his horse about a length behind Chapter In The Fog for the run around the opening turn.  Content to run behind the top two for the backstretch, it looked as though Russell was thinking about swinging him three wide in the turn, but kept second guessing himself and was hesitant to make such a move.  Maintained third, but had nothing for the winners.

4th- 3- Wine And Dine (34/1)- For some reason, there was a complete lack of confidence in the grandstands for the D J C Racing Stables entry.  Sure, he’s not Niagra or Unsuited, but these odds were a bit surprising.  He had an average overall start, starting midpack just a few lengths off the lead.  His race line, for the second race in a row, is “all fours”.  He was nondescriptly fourth throughout much as it implies.

5th- 2- Nebraska Forty (3/1)- Looking to get Black Dog that first stake win, Nebraska Forty did not appear to have the greatest start, but he seems to like being a closer as well, so it was too early to worry.  Unfortunately, when it came time to make a move, there was nothing in the tank.  The frontrunners still had plenty of speed, but I would have liked to have seen him at least get by Wine And Dine here.

6th- 1- Short Tempered (4/1)- The Oval Express Farms entry is normally a closer, so there was no surprise to see him go right to the back at the start of the race.  There would be no closing kick today, however, he would run a rather disappointing race.

7th- 7- Power Ball (6/1)- The Nakamura Stables entry proved to be a large disappointment.  He seemed to be ready to run a big race, but he was clearly a losing ticket today.   Did not start particularly well, and never proved to be a factor.  A very wide trip in the stretch is a possible excuse, but if he had something, he would have at least held off Short Tempered.

Track: Firm
Time: :23³  :46⁴  1:09³  1:32⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 6 – 5 Paid 55.90
$1 Trifecta: 6 – 5 – 4 Paid 233.20

Scratched: None

Winner picked by NS

Categories: Ungraded