Smokey Stover Steps Up Again in BC Juvenile Turf

By Nynl Stables on November 3, 2018

BC Juvenile Turf (Grade 1)- $1,000.000 Purse
CD- For Colts and Geldings Two Years Old
One Mile on the Turf
November 2, 2018

In the stable’s tenth year of operation, Smokey Stover finally won a BC race when Na Pali got the job done in the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf. Getting his second win would only take an additional hour, as just two races later, Smokey Stover was back at it, showing the strength of his stable and sweeping the Juvenile Turf races here at CD. On the male side, Devils Tower would come from behind to get the win! Much like Na Pali, Devils Tower came into the race off of a big win in one of the key lead-up races, the Grade 3 Pilgrim. Didn’t have him in my picks, though; not really sure why, but probably just because of a numbers game in such a talented field. Congrats to Smokey on the second BC win, and we’ll see if he can build on that even more tomorrow as he still has plenty of good ones to go. I was actually surprised to see that he had not won a BC race yet in his career. The winning jockey is L H Colon, who at this rate is going to be right there with the great F Pennington as being the top two jockeys in the game. It is his first win in the stake. The time of the victory was 1:33.58. Let’s take a look!

(1/4 Mile- :23.12)- No one is shot out to the lead in this race, and the outside push does not really pan out, at least this time. The Gdp Inc trained Z Bleu One looked like he would be out on the lead early, but just when you looked for him to be pushed to the front, he was held back just a touch. Face Your Fears, from Mb Stables, emerges as the race leader along the inside, a head in front of Copper Wench, from Estero Farms, and then Z Bleu One. Many Faces, our pre-race pick out of Gdp Inc was fourth and about a length behind his stablemate. Following them, we have a very tight pack of horses that are spread out, five wide. Into The Light (Mb Stables) is slightly ahead of this pack, and has Cut The Brakes (Estero Farms) to his outside. To his inside are Clutch (Aer Stables), Waitomo (Whitewater Stables), and Grandiose (D J C Racing Stables). A length behind that group is where we find our eventual winner, Smokey Stover’s Devils Tower. He is tenth, and a little more then four lengths from the lead. Clueless Joe (Allinthegate) is nearby on the rail. Trailing are Warino (D J C Stables), Hefner (Mb Stables), and well back is the longshot London Techno (The Sidley Stud).

(½ Mile- :45.88)- The frontrunners pick up the pace over the second half of the race, and it is still Face Your Fears out in front. At the top of the backstretch, Copper Wench seemed willing to take a run at him for the lead and that may have led to both of them getting some separation on the rest of the field. Gdp Inc still held the next two spots with his horses, but now Into The Light had pulled up from the middle of the field to join them. They were all two and a half or so lengths from the front. Clutch and Waitomo seemed to just be in a steady cruising speed here, while Cut The Brakes conceded a bit of ground. Devils Tower moved up to the outside of Grandiose and Clueless Joe, but still had five lengths to make up. Waitomo, Hefner, and London Techno still trailed.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Moving into the top of the stretch, Face Your Fears still seems to be in good shape. He hand handled the turn very well, and while Copper Wench, who had run with him most of the way began to tire, Face Your Fears still would lead. His stablemate, Into The Light improved his position in the turn quite well, and is within a length. Many Faces was still looking good too, and despite being in the third lane for both of the turns in this race, remained in full stride. Unable to say the same about his stablemate, Z Bleu One, who began to back up. After the top three, they were six wide across the track, and among this group would ne Devils Tower. He had gradually cut into the lead, but needed a lane to work with, and it would come to fruition as they approached the exit of the turn. In the six wide group with him were the back pedaling Copper Wench and Z Bleu One, but Cut The Brakes was moving well on the outside, and Clutch continued to have a steady run of his own. Grandiose was trying to remain with them, but having some trouble in doing so, and Waitomo was hoping to sneak on through to his inside. Clueless Joe had dropped to the back, with Warino and Hefner. Also back there was London Techno. The longshot was well behind the field for most of the race, but now was looking to make his move. He would swing to the outside, and this would be a good lane to gain ground. Making up about five and a half on the frontrunners was a tough task, though.

(Finish- 1:33.58)- In a methodical fashion, both Into The Light and Many Faces make their way around Face Your Fears. However, with a furlong to do, it was pretty clear that there were stronger challengers making their moves, and Devils Tower was full of run here. He simply had a gear that no one else in this field would have, and made the pass for the lead look pretty easy. At the wire, he would become a BC Champion, winning by nearly a length. Many Fears held on well to be second, and the hard charging London Techno got all the way up for third. Excellent late run by him. Cut The Brakes also took an outside lane, allowing him to be fourth, ahead of the charging late Hefner, who is fifth. Into The Light, Face Your Fears, and Waitomo all finished in close proximity. Clutch is next, a head in front of Warino. Grandiose, Clueless Joe, Z Bleu One, and Copper Wench round out the field.

About The Winner- Devils Tower, trained by Smokey Stover and ridden to victory by L H Colon, is a two year old colt by Ye Charley, and is out of Gloria Thrills. He was bred in New Jersey by Smokey Stover as a yearling, the only trainer for which he has ever known. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his third in five starts, and his second graded win. His career earnings are now $764.900.

Horse Name

Owner Name

Jockey

Odds

Fin

Time

SRF

Devils Tower

Smokey Stover

Colon L H

4.00

1¹