The Haskell (Grade 1) (BC)- $1,000.000 Purse
MTH- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
July 20, 2019

The Haskell got a surprising declaration with about an hour prior to post: Admiration had been scratched. The BEL winner was seen as one of the horses to beat, even though he was starting from post 12. He had won from there before, doing so in the SA Derby, so many were still confident in his ability to take the win. However, Mb Stables was not one of them, and the trainer made it known that he was thinking about the move a couple days prior to the race, but likely waited to allow for the system to auto scratch him out. Just a hunch that we’ll be talking about him in the Dandy preview for next week, but for now we still had a strong field of thirteen going to the gate, including a horse that I was admittedly not convinced about, even though many other trainers seemed to adore him. That horse was Twin Towers, and today he would step up and earn the biggest win of his career, taking the race over the up and coming name to watch, Mercedes Benz, as well as For The Boys. Twin Towers, who is now 3-for-3 when starting from post number 8, is trained by Fractious, and its his first win in the stake. Aboard was T Gaffalione, who also wins the Haskell for the first time. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:47.95, right in line with other winning times. Here’s a look at it!

(½ Mile- :47.44)- From the outside, Commanding Bee gets out to the early lead for John Henry, and has Mercedes Benz running right behind him for First Class Stable. These two are the only ones to initially go to the lead and clear the rest of the field by a length and a half. However, as we approach the end of the first turn, Court Jester Racing’s Marx On The Moon makes an aggressive five wide push in order to get near the front. Behind these three, and in the middle of three-wide three lengths back, we have our eventual winner, Twin Towers, owned by Fractious. He has the PRK winner, Nakamura Stables’ Hollywood Latte to his outside and Apples To Oranges, the non-scratched Mb Stables entry to his inside. Chrystal Believer looks to advance into this group for Maxmillion Farm. Behind them is our next group of three wide, with post-time favorite For The Boys (D J C Racing Stables) on the rail, and stablemate Liberty Valance to his outside, as well as Red Cup, from Our Athletes. Trailing early are Phooeys Queen Blue (Estero Farms), and both Joshua Stables entries, Pure Authority and Scarlet Ninja.

(3/4 Mile- 1:11.07)- There is no change at the front as Commanding Bee continues to lead the way down the backstretch with Marx On The Moon running right beside him. Mercedes Benz maintained his position a length off the lead, and is still there as he begins to look at making a three wide move into the turn. Twin Towers inches forward somewhat, and is now just a little more then two lengths back. Hollywood Latte seemed to be in a good position on the track as well at the point, running to Twin Towers’ outside. Further back, Apples To Oranges makes a move off the rail, and the entire field seemed to have a synchronized shift a lane outside as well, all at once. Only in virtual racing could they have choreographed that so fluidly. Chrystal Believer is still to the outside of Apples To Oranges, but the horse that really looked to benefit from this shift was For The Boys as the rail was wide open for him now. Liberty Valance, Red Cup, and Phooeys Queen Blue were still keeping up with the pack as Pure Authority and Scarlet Ninja trailed.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Mercedes Benz had a good trip up to this point, and was setting up his three wide move around the turn. He would have success in doing this, and would emerge with the lead at the top of the stretch by a head over the combination of Commanding Bee and Marx On The Moon. Those two front runners looked to hang on to get the best possible finish as more rivals started coming. Twin Towers had been four wide, and had no reservations about passing Mercedes Benz on the right. He was still fourth now, but within a length, and clearly advancing. Meanwhile the horse that did have the passing lane was For The Boys, making the most of the rail being wide open for him. Apples To Oranges was still to his outside, but did not have as clear of a lane. Chrystal Believer was coming up through the middle of the field, while on the far outside, we had a horse in Red Cup that really needed a good finish here, and was looking sharp. Phooeys Queen Blue had a gap to maneuver through the field a bit, and Liberty Valance, another needing a good run, looked to follow Twin Towers. Scarlet Ninja and Pure Authority continued to trail, likely causing frustration for Joshua Stables.

(Finish- 1:47.95)- With a furlong to go, that 85/1 longshot named Mercedes Benz was still looking real good. This is a horse that was making their stake debut, and he would run a great race, making a name for himself here. As good as his effort was, however, he could not hold off Twin Towers, who got by, finally, with less then a half furlong to go, and prevailing at the wire for the win! After the second place Mercedes Benz came For The Boys, who seemed like he might have more for the top two at the top of the stretch, but still finished well to get third. The far outside lane would work for Red Cup, in a great and needed effort for the fourth place check. Also running well in the late moments was Phooeys Queen Blue, but it was not quite enough for Estero Farms, a former owner of Twin Towers, to pick up a piece of the purse. Apples To Oranges and Liberty Valance dead heat for sixth over Hollywood Latte, Commanding Bee, Scarlet Ninja, Marx On The Moon, Chrystal Believer, and Pure Authority. Only four lengths separated first from last.

About The Winner- Twin Towers, trained by Fractious, and ridden to victory by T Gaffalione, is a three year old colt by Commanding, and is out of the late Southern Charmer. He was bred in New York by Fractious as a first quarter two year old, but they have not always been together. Fractious sold him unraced for $300.000, and he passed through a couple hands before the trainer got him back in April 2019 from Estero Farms in private sales for $120.000. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his fourth in 10 starts, his second stake win, and first graded win. His career earnings are now $769.200.

Track: Fast
Time: :47²  1:11   1:35²  1:47⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 8 – 9 Paid 489.00
$1 Trifecta: 8 – 9 – 1 Paid 1,054.80

Scratched: Admiration(L)

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES