The TAM Stakes (Grade 3)- $175.000 Purse
TAM- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Turf
February 8, 2020
It had been a little over 90 days since the last time Cherra Grans had been in action, and that was in the BC Mile. He finished in the middle of the field that day, but was not much of a factor in the field overall. The race before that was not much better, so the trainer, Team 7 Illusions, hoped that this rest would do well for the gelding. The end result was much stronger from start to finish, and while the TAM Stakes is not the BC Mile or the Shadwell, it was still an effort that he needed. Team 7 Illusions wins the race for the first time, and for jockey D E Centeno it is his second consecutive win and fifth overall. Congratulations to them! I feel like I should not be writing a recap giving my four picks finished in the bottom four spots in the race, but hey, that happens. (there should be a possible wager for that, too). The time of the race was 1:39.49, similar with recent years and exactly the same as the 2018 edition. Here’s a look at it!
(1/4 Mile- :23.39)- Major longshot Solow, from Chili King Stables, breaks sharply out of the gate and becomes the leader as the field enters the main turf course. He becomes the leader by about two lengths before Homme de Guerre, from John Henry, begins to cut into the margin. Behind them, things are just getting settled in, it seems. Cherra Grans, the eventual winner from Team 7 Illusions patiently runs on the inside of four wide that are two lengths back. He is joined here by Digital Fraud (Nakamura Stables), Welcome To My World (Maxmillion Farm), and Equivocal (Smokey Stover), a horse that was hoping to prove me wrong by doubting him so let’s see how he would do today. Within a length of these on the rail was Thanks For Nothing (D J C Racing Stables), which sums up what I felt about the four I picked here. Trailing are The Silver Scot (Our Athletes), who was hoping to make his mother happy, as well as Revolutionary Cat and Kray Kray Kray.
(½ Mile- :46.80)- Moving forward a little bit, Homme de Guerre has now joined Solow on the front end and those two begin the backstretch run running side by side. Cherra Grans runs third in a comfortable stalking position while having a good lane on the rail. Welcome To My world keeps her company on the outside and Equivocal runs nearby. There were two that were also running as a part of this group earlier, but both Thanks For Nothing and Digital Fraud have dropped a few lengths and now run with Revolutionary Cat, who moved up a bit. Kray Kray Kray and The Silver Scot are at the back.
(Top Of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- As the backstretch run ends and we get near the turn, we start to see some horses looking for lanes to make a push forward at this time. Cherra Grans was one of them, and now looks to make a three wide pass for the lead in the turn. Welcome To My World obliged and moved down a lane. At the top of the stretch, he has nearly completed this pass, moving to outside of Homme de Guerre for the lead. Solow lost about a length. Meanwhile, Welcome To My World was unable to move forward with as much power and Revolutionary Cat was looking strong on the far outside. Thanks For Nothing was holding his own, and Equivocal was starting to lose touch. The others were not yet showing their hand.
(Finish- 1:39.49)- In the stretch, Cherra Grans moves a head in front of Homme de Guerre, but that one is not giving away the top spot easily and puts forth a strong fight. This was needed, because Revolutionary Cat had a great run coming along the outside. At the wire, Cherra Grans holds off his rivals, and with the race by half a length over the charging Revolutionary Cat with Homme de Guerre hanging on for third. Thanks For Nothing is the best of the rest, finishing fourth while Kray Kray Kray passed tiring rivals to finish fifth, half a length ahead of Solow. Rounding out the order were the four picked in the preview, Digital Fraud, Welcome To My World, The Silver Stud, and, naturally since I covered this race, Equivocal.
About The Winner- Cherra Grans, trained by Team 7 Illusions and ridden to victory by D E Centeno is a four year old gelding by Cherokee Sunset, and is out of El Gran Terra (who is also the dam to Apples To Oranges). He was bred in Louisiana by Team 7 Illusions as a yearling, and they have been together throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his fifth in 17 starts, his fourth stake win, and second graded win. His career earnings are now $859.400.
Track: Firm
Time: :231 :464 1:094 1:392
$2 Mutuel Prices:
$1 Exacta: 2 – 9 Paid 105.20
$1 Trifecta: 2 – 9 – 10 Paid 998.00
— NS
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES
