National Museum of Racing (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
SAR- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Turf
August 4, 2017

Far Too Cool came in to the 14th running of the National Museum of Racing looking like one of the horses to beat. Ever since he was acquired in the December auction by the trainer, from Mb Stables, he has been exceptional, and has now won five of his last seven races. They weren’t always the biggest races, but as the streak went on, Far Too Cool began to take on stronger and stronger opposition, and he has always been up to the challenge. In the National Museum of Racing, Far Too Cool continued that trend, and after this victory, he may have Night Rider Stables wondering how far his coolness could go. It is the first win in the stake for the trainer, who was able to have his favorite jockey, R Maragh, aboard for the first time. For the virtual jockey, it is his second win in the race, having also won in 2015 with Ponder and Chili King Stables. Congratulations! The time of the victory was 1:39.66, the second quickest in the stake’s history. That 2015 race was the fastest. Here’s a look at how the race went down!

(1/4 Mile- :23.30)- The post time favorite, Devil Six from Nakamura Stables, breaks sharply out of the gate and seems to quickly take a length lead over the competition from his outer most post. He’s the first to cross the finish line on the frontstretch the first time, and leads by nearly two as they move into the first turn. Running second is Serious Cobra, from Aer Stables, who also looked good at the start, and was content to sit just off the lead like this. It was another length back to Crushed (John Henry), and the eventual winner, Far Too Cool from Night Rider Stables. These two would be three lengths back, keeping close while remaining unhurried. The big longshot Forestry was a length behind them for D J C Racing Stables, and Explosive Charley (TwinTowersRacing) was not interested in the early pace, running three lengths behind Forestry, and eight overall lengths out of it.

(½ Mile- :46.83)- There is really nothing new to report here. The second quarter of the race saw everyone maintaining their positions, and no one really making a move of any variety. So with that said, and without adding a bunch of fluff, let’s move on to the next segment.

(Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- As the backstretch run began to play out, Devil Six began to look vulnerable to Serious Cobra, not as much because Devil Six was weakening, but Serious Cobra seemed better conditioned to maintain this pace. At the top of the final turn, Serious Cobra had begun to pull even with Devil Six. After running the six furlongs in 1:10.05, showing there was not let up in this pace, Serious Cobra slithered his way to the lead. Devil Six was trying to hang in there, but did not have the same power in his stride. While all this was going on, Far Too Cool had separated himself from Crushed and began to make his own charge to the front. Moving into the turn, he had cut the deficit down a bit to two and a half lengths. Rounding the turn, R Maragh wisely kept his gelding in behind Serious Cobra. The length that he always had been behind Serious Cobra remained in tact, but this allowed him to catch Devil Six and eventually put him aside. The pass was not quite made yet, but seemed inevitable. He would be in great position then, to make a move around Serious Cobra for the stretch. Crushed, who had been running with Far Too Cool, made some progress as well, and looked like he could still be in the mix in the stretch if he had an additional gear to shift into. Forestry had no response at this point, and Explosive Charley only gained a length.

(Finish- 1:39.66)- Right away, Far Too Cool moved to the outside to lane knowing that it would be the best option to get by Serious Cobra. However, Serious Cobra and J R Leparoux were also running very well, setting us up for a great stretch battle. Early in the stretch, it was looking like Serious Cobra was going to hang on, but in the final furlong, Far Too Cool made slight progress with every stride as R Maragh looked to get everything he could out of him. Far Too Cool showed very impressive stretch fight and desire here, clearly showing why he has now won five of seven races, and why he has always been up to the task regardless of what the competition level was. Serious Cobra and Aer Stables have nothing to hang their heads over. It was a great run for them, and they miss out in a close photo for the victory. Devil Six is third in another tight photo, this over Crushed. Devil Six was hanging in there for a while, but did seem to lose some spark in the final half furlong in the race, and it nearly cost him third. Crushed ran a consistent race throughout to be fourth. The other two in this field were well out of it, with Forestry holding off Explosive Charley.

About The Winner: Far Too Cool, trained by Night Rider Stables, and ridden by R Maragh, is a three year old gelding by Cool Current and out of Phar Lady. He was bred in California as a yearling by Barcelona Farms, and was acquired by Night Rider Stables in the December auction from Mb Stables, a trainer that never raced him while he owned him, for just $5.670. Congratulations to the connections! That cheap purchase has now led to $293.030 in career earnings for Far Too Cool. He has won six of 10 career races, and five of his last seven. It was his second graded stake victory.

Track: Firm
Time: :23¹  :46⁴  1:10   1:39³

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 4 – 3 Paid 11.80
$1 Trifecta: 4 – 3 – 6 Paid 62.00

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES