The Southwest (Grade 3) (KYD)- $500.000 Purse
OP- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
February 19, 2018
He was the longest shot in the field, but that would not keep Babalu Time out of the winners circle today. I was a little surprised by his odds, actually, as even though he was not among my picks, I certainly felt he had a good shot. After all, he was coming into this race off of winning the Smarty Jones at GP last month. He was 94/1 that day, too, so eventually we are going to have to give Babalu Time a little more love. Plenty of love goes out to the winning trainer, Night Rider Stables as he wins the race for the first time, and does so with his favorite jockey, R Maragh, who also takes the race for the first time. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:41.95, not one of the quickest times in the stake’s history, but nothing more was needed. Let’s take a look at this result.
(1/4 Mile- :23.31)- After a bit of a battle in the frontstretch, the early leader would end up being Minute Hand, from Fractious, though this push would result in his being four wide into the opening turn. Second place Psychotic Ruler, from D J C Racing Stables, also needed to take outside path around that turn. These two did pull away by about two lengths over the rest of the field. There would be a threesome in the stalking position, with Dastardly Havoc (Mb Stables) to the inside, having stablemate Know The Rules, and Slip Away (TwinTowersRacing) to his outside. Just behind them would be our race winner, Babalu Time, sitting nearly four lengths from the front for Night Rider Stables. No Chill (Team 7 Illusions) was nearby on the rail with One Dance (Gdp Inc) and Alpha Uno (Estero Farms) within a length of him. Motor City (First Class Stable) looked to be in a hard restrain early.
(½ Mile- :46.50)- At the front, it remains Minute Hand and Psychotic Ruler as the two of them run down the backstretch with a rather quick time. Creeping into the picture at this point in the race would be Know The Rules, as he began to separate himself from the two he had been running with. No Chill seemed to like that idea, and looked to take the same lane right behind him, splitting Dastardly Havoc and Slip Away. Babalu Time was looking for room, but was not forcing the issue quite yet, and was still four lengths out. One Dance and Alpha Uno tried to hang with him as Motor City still remained out of it.
(Top Of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- As the field made their way around the turn, Babalu Time swung to the outside in order to make his move. This would force him to go six wide, and then end up seven wide because One Dance was going to try and go with him. Despite the wide trip, Babalu Time made up considerable ground around the turn, and by the time they began running in the stretch, he was within a length of the lead. That lead still belonged to Minute Hand but he was definitely clinging to it at this point. There were seven of them within a length, and most of them had gained ground on him in the turn. Dastardly Havoc, Know The Rules, Slip Away, and One Dance all had clear lanes in front of them and all seemed to be advancing. No Chill was also moving up, and only Psychotic Ruler seemed to be retreating right here. Alpha Uno looked for room as well, but potentially had traffic in front of him. Meanwhile, Motor City turned it into high gear, and looked to take the lane behind Minute Hand for the stretch.
(Finish- 1:41.95)- Being wide in the stretch seemed to pay off for Babalu Time, as there was quite a bit of jostling around for position to his inside that he simply did not have to worry about. R Maragh could keep his colt focused on the prize, and he gamely ran hard all the way to the wire. One Dance, also benefitted from keeping away from that mess, and nearly caught up to him in the end, and will settle for a solid runner up finish. Slip Away slipped on through to be third. It was tight for the final check, and it was mainly these three who got jammed up somehow in the stretch. It would be Dastardly Havoc finishing ahead of Minutes Hand and No Chill. Motor City picked the wrong lane, and could never show his true closing kick. He does top Alpha Uno, and Know The Rules, with Psychotic Ruler being at the back.
About The Winner- Babalu Time, trained by Night Rider Stables, and ridden to victory by R Maragh, is a three year old colt by Babalu Aye and out of Time Fades. He was bred in West Virginia by Alegria as a yearling and acquired unraced by Night Rider Stables in the March 2017 auction for $35.000. Congratulations to the connections! Babalu Time now has four wins in nine starts, three stake wins, and now one graded win. His career earnings are now $463.320.
| ## | Horse Name | Owner Name | Jockey | Odds | Fin | Time | SRF | |||
|
Babalu Time | Night Rider Stables | Maragh R | 36.15 | 11/4 | 1:41.95 | ||||
|
One Dance | Gdp Inc | Leparoux J R | 12.90 | 21 | 1:42.03 | ||||
|
Slip Away | TwinTowersRacing | Bejarano R | 3.45 | 31/2 | 1:42.25 | ||||
|
Dastardly Havoc | Mb Stables | Velazquez J R | 7.80 | 4hd | 1:42.37 | ||||
|
Minutes Hand | Fractious | Gallardo A A | 14.30 | 5no | 1:42.40 | ||||
|
No Chill | Team 7 Illusions | Espinoza V | 6.80 | 61/2 | 1:42.42 | ||||
|
Motor City | First Class Stable | Santana R Jr | 2.40 | 71/4 | 1:42.56 | ||||
|
Alpha Uno | Estero Farms | Bravo J | 8.70 | 81/2 | 1:42.64 | ||||
|
Know The Rules | Mb Stables | Albarado R J | 7.05 | 91/4 | 1:42.76 | ||||
|
Psychotic Ruler | D J C Racing Stables | Ortiz I Jr | 32.30 | 10 | 1:42.85 |
Track: Fast
Time: :231 :462 1:101 1:414
$2 Mutuel Prices:
| 4 – Babalu Time | 74.30 | 89.20 | 43.70 |
| 3 – One Dance | 22.10 | 15.10 | |
| 5 – Slip Away | 4.30 |
$1 Exacta: 4 – 3 Paid 1,359.50
$1 Trifecta: 4 – 3 – 5 Paid 1,388.10
Scratched: Broken Tap, Rothstein
— NS
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES
