BC Classic (Grade 1)- $5,000.000 Purse
KEE- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Quarter on the Dirt
October 31, 2015

Viking Shield was loaded into the starting gate into post position number two next to the reigning BC Classic Champion.  The trainer, Delta Farms, proudly looked on as horses from long time accomplished trainers Eastern Equine and Mb Stables would go in after him into the next four spots to his right.  Surrounded by more well known names in the virtual racing world, Viking Shield was just as capable as any of them.  The Triple Crown races were not as his best showing, but every other time he hit the race track he was good and he was very consistent.   The trainer has been at it for a while, opening up the stable back in 2007, running an average of 300 races per year.  In that time, he had four graded stakes wins to show for it, two of which were won by Viking Shield this year.   Now, he can lay claim to something only a handful of trainers have ever done on HRP.  Win the BC Classic.  The name Viking Shield will now reside on a list the features greats like Icicle, Dark Crown, and Whats Up.   There is nothing better.

We’ll get into the how the race was won in just a moment, as it was certainly a very thrilling way to win this kind of a race, but first, I was able to catch up with the winning trainer after the race.  He couldn’t have been any happier!  He knew it would be difficult, but he never lost faith in his horse, “I knew he was a good horse and was really finding his best form of late but still thought he was going to have to bring his A game to win against that field.  But that’s just what he did and I couldn’t be happier!”, Delta Farms told the SRF after the race.   In order for Viking Shield to pull off this type of win, it can also take a little bit of racing luck, as the trainer mentions as he is sure to credit the great job that S X Bridgmohan did while riding the winner, “Overall it was a great race.  I thought he got the perfect trip inside and was positioned perfect coming down the backstretch.  Bridgmohan did a beautiful job coming into the stretch to give him some room to run and he just exploded the last furlong.  Reminded me of Ark derby… 2 post/bridgmohan and a great finish.”   Bridgmohan does deserve a lot of credit here with a fantastic job of riding, especially when there started to become a traffic jam in the final turn of the race.  Had he wanted just a tenth of a second longer to make the move that he did, then it is possible that Outward Bound would have clogged up the preferred lane for him.  It is the first time that Bridgmohan has won this race as well.

Today was a great day of racing throughout all of the BC events.   And while the bigger stables, such as Australia Wide, got their hard earned victories, there was a bunch of trainers today that had a truly special moment.   BC wins are special no matter who wins them, but today’s results show that anyone of any stable size can get to the top of the mountain.  Viking Shield is your 2015 BC Classic Champion, and Delta Farms is a BC Classic winning trainer.  Congratulations to them on this great moment of glory.  Now, let’s take a look at how this race was won.

1st- 2- Viking Shield (12/1)- Our eventual race winner from Delta Farms was not too bothered with the early pace, and would be seventh and about four lengths back while riding along the rail the first time they reached the finish line.  His distance to the race leaders would remain constant as they rounded the opening turn.  Crept a little closer about midway into the backstretch, at which point S X Bridgmohan made an aggressive move off the rail, forcing Outward Bound down with him. In the turn, Viking Shield did a great job of maneuvering through some very tight quarters, especially when he was able to thread a needle to get by the fading Fumble.  At the top of the stretch, Viking Shield began to follow Port On The Horizon through with just over a furlong to go.   With only the two D J C Racing Stables entries ahead of him, there enough of a gap for him to slide on through between them instead of needing to make a move around them.  Bridgmohan pounced on this opportunity, and he had plenty of horsepower underneath him to make the move look quite smooth.  He passed Niagra a little easier then we may have expected, and had just enough time to set his sights on Port On The Horizon.  With the wire coming into view, Viking Shield pulled ahead by neck just in time and would go on to get the win just in time!  The time of the victory was 2:01.11, which is a new KEE track record!  This was a great winning effort by everyone involved!  Congratulations!  Viking Shield is the third straight three year old to win the BC Classic, so next year we may be talking about his chances of a repeat.  With the form he is in right now, there is no reason to deny that potential.  He was bred in Kentucky by Delta Farms, and has been the only trainer he has ever had.  He is by Viking Range, who is part of the Charley Farley bloodline, and out of Amazing Fit.  That one had modest pedigree.   Congratulatins again to all involved!

2nd- 7- Port On The Horizon (20/1)- Looked good right out of the gate for D J C Racing Stables, but would opt to assume a position just off the lead as the field moved into the opening turn.  At the half mile marker, B J Hernandez did well to keep Port On The Horizon just two lengths from the early pace.  He would make some progress as they approached the final turn, with Hernandez being able to cut in between Fumble and Chrystal Pip.  Port On The Horizon responded well to this move, and would pass Fumble with about as much ease as did his stablemate, Niagra.  At the top of the stretch, while Niagra looked like he might pull away, Port On The Horizon emerged as second and his trainer really thinking big for a brief moment. In the stretch, he began to reel in Niagra and would complete the pass for the lead.  However, the trainer’s dream of a 1-2 finish began to fade away as several were making moves late in the stretch, especially Viking Shield.  Port On The Horizon would not be able to hold off that one, but does get a good second place finish.

3rd- 5- A One (2/1)- The betting favorite from Eastern Equine would start the race towards the back, but was only about a length from Viking Shield as they moved into the opening turn.  During the backstretch trip, R J Albarado looked to find the perfect lane for A One, but there was a bit of a traffic jam in front of him.  Then, just before the turn, he move to a good spot along the rail, which would move him out of the close quarters that his stablemate would find himself in.  However, with Visa Vice in his way along the rail and hanging on to this position, Albarado couldn’t make his move when he may have preferred to.  Once he was finally able to move to Visa Vice’s outside thanks to the fading Fumble, A One was just as strong as Viking Shield late. Unfortunately he just did not have as clean of a trip as he would have liked.

4th- 1- Niagra (4/1)- The reigning BC Classic champion from D J C Racing Stables got off to an excellent start along the rail.   He would stalk the pacesetting Fumble into the first turn, staying about a length behind him but never allowed Fumble to pull out in front of him.  In the backstretch therefore, he gradually made progress in his effort to take the lead, and six furlongs into the race, he would finally emerge with it.  In the final turn, Niagra looked like a true great, and would open up on the field by about a length and a half as they hit the top of the stretch.  Destiny was calling his name with clear daylight in front of him.  But this time, Niagra could not put his rivals away late.  The trainer may be most disappointed by how easily he conceded third place in the dying moments.

5th- 6- No Trippin (13/1)- It wasn’t the quickest of the starts for this Mb Stables entry, but he found himself in good company being between A One and Mister Major early on.     He did not look to make much of a move during the backstretch, but as they moved into the turn, he looked to make a move to the outside of Unsuited.  Somehow, in a very tight pack, No Trippin was able to squeeze himself between Unsuited and Mister Major.   In the stretch, he ran about as well as anyone else did in the stretch, but his wide trip did not do him any favors.  It was not a bad effort, and No Trippin did show he has plenty left still in the tank.

6th- 12- Mister Major (10/1)- The Sanny Village entry started the race towards the back of the field.   He would run about four wide over the course of the turn and was unhurried over the course of the backstretch.  As the field moved into this turn, it looked as though he wanted to begin an advance, but some jockeying for position in front of him between Viking Shield, Outward Bound, and Unsuited held him back for a brief moment.   On exit of the turn, Mister Major was poised to make a move to the front and at this point had a clear lane, although it was one that was about seven wide.  He would run well in the stretch, but gave up too much ground early.

7th- 13- Chrystal Pip (24/1)- Started quickly out of the thirteen hole, and was able to get into a fairly good, but not perfect, position on the track for Chili King Stables as they moved into the turn for the first time.  He would be second, and able to be four-wide in that opening turn.  Stayed about a length from the front running Fumble in the backstretch while in the third position.   Lost a couple spots during the turn, but was still keeping in touch with the leaders as they entered the top of the stretch.  If he was able to kick it into another gear at this point, he may have been right there with Viking Shield at the end.  Instead, he was a bit flat in the stretch.

8th- 14- Hyper Silver (21/1)- The Night Rider Stables entry got off to a very poor start in this race, dropping to the back of the pack and being about eight lengths off the lead.  Since it appeared as though J R Velazquez wanted to quickly recover and advance Hyper Silver while about five wide in the turn instead of staying in the back, one is lead to believe that this a byproduct of a poor break out of the gate.  He tried to get closer to the back, but with others, such as Mister Major, also swinging out well wide, Hyper Silver had to make a very wide move.  Once there, he made a valiant effort, but it would only have an eighth place result to show for it.

9th- 4- Visa Vice (4/1)- The second of the three entries from Mb Stables started well out of the gate, and would be fifth at the beginning as the field moved into the opening turn.  He would stalk his stablemate for a little while, but then moved over to the rail position to try and follow Niagra through.   As the field moved into the turn, he began to lose some contact with Niagra and it started to become questionable whether or not he would have anything for the stretch.  Seemed to hold his ground pretty well and seemed destined for a better finish then he would end up getting, but those who had been well off the pace early had more stretch kick, leaving Visa Vice to a 9th place finish.

10th- 3- Outward Bound (15/1)- Got off to an average start for Eastern Equine, being content to ride along about three lengths from the early leaders.  He would remain unhurried as the field entered the backstretch, and would be right smack in the middle of the field as they moved into the final turn.  He would be forced down a lane or two by eventual winner Viking Shield as that one looked to make his winning move.  This in turn, essentially moved Unsuited down as well.  He seemed to be unfazed by the move initially, but the lane he was forced into was essentially a dead end.  Chrystal Pip was directly in front of him and not advancing.  J Talamo moved him around a few times trying to find a lane, but he just didn’t have enough horse underneath him.

11th- 10- Duca Di Toscana (74/1)- The game plan for the Nakamura Stables entry was to come from behind in this race, as the sometimes pacesetter and sometimes closer went towards the back early.  He would continue to maintain this position during the opening turn and into the backstretch, where he would remain until the final turn.  He seemed to wait there way too long, and with only about 1.5 furlongs to go did he look to make his move.  Nakamura told us it was all about this stretch of the race, and while he looked good in it, he beat himself early by not getting involved.

12th- 9- Unsuited (19/1)- It was an average start for the Hawaiian Shirt Guy entry, being stuck in the middle of the field but was in a good spot as they moved in to the first turn.  Entered the backstretch running in the sixth position, with a lane available for advancement if G Olguin wished to take it, which he would not.  He would be content to maintain the same position on the track as they moved into the turn, and by that time the lane he could have had for himself was swallowed up by No Trippin.  He got nudged down a bit on exit of the turn by Outward Bound, and came up empty in the stretch.

13th- 8- Fumble (20/1)- Quick out of the gate for Mb Stables and would be the first one to cross the finish line on the first trip around.  He would also lead the field around the opening turn, and moved into the backstretch with an approximate length advantage while setting the opening half mile in 48 seconds flat.  Maintained a clean and steady stride over the backstretch, but would concede the lead to Niagra just as they hit the 3/4 marker. Something happened to Fumble after Niagra made the pass, and he just seemed to lose any interest, gradually dropping back over the final three furlongs.

14th- 11- Graceful Shadow (44/1)- Started near the back for Aer Stables.  As the field moved around the first turn, Graceful Shadow still seemed to want to run his own race and hung out with Duca Di Toscana at the back for the duration of the backstretch.   Remained at the back of the pack during the turn, and into the stretch.  It was one of those days, but someone has to finish last.

The SRF congratulates all fourteen horses on being able to race in the BC Classic.  Some will taking differing paths then others as we move into 2016, but every horse that ran here is a true winner.

Track: Fast
Time: :48   1:11⁴  1:35⁴  2:01

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 2 – 7 Paid 189.90
$1 Trifecta: 2 – 7 – 5 Paid 700.90

Scratched: Stranger, Summertime Hit, Bonne Journee

— NS

Categories: BC 2015-17, THE BREEDERS CUP