Crack Dab Discovers Old Form in The Hal’s Hope Win

By Nynl Stables on March 27, 2021

The Hal’s Hope (Grade 3)- $100.000 Purse
GP- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
March 27, 2021

During the summer last year, Crack Dab was looking like one of the top horses in the game when he ran second in the Whitney, and then won the Pacific Classic. As quickly as he burst onto the scene, he seemed to fall off at the end of the year. At the start of the year, it looked like things were starting to turn around for him again, and now for the first time since the Pacific Classic win, Crack Dab has won a race. It may only be the Hal’s Hope, but it can be a building block for him to possibly get close to where he was before, if not all the way back. Trainer Gdp Inc celebrates the win, which is his second in the race. He had also win in 2019, with Super Jack. Aboard the winner was Ru Fuentes, earning his first Hal’s Hope win. The time of the race was 1:47.75, the quickest of the five times in which the race was run at this distance. Let’s take a look!

(½ Mile- :47.58)- Breaking well out of the gate, it’s Range Of The Sun for John Henry, and Relate, for D J C Racing Stables. These two were part of an initial group of four at the front that would eventually pull away from the others after a half mile as they made their way down the backstretch. Crack Dab, our eventual winner from Gdp Inc, is closer to the front early on here, and runs third, trailing by about a length and a half. Final Decision runs right to his inside for Nakamura Stables, and nearby on the rail, it’s Tinkey’s Mr Grusome. Izzy Mendelbaum is part of this group, in the fourth lane, for YME Stable. It’s another length to Southern Attitude (Arindel) and one more to Red Divos Alliance (TwinTowersRacing). The trailers are Telladifferentstory (Nakamura Stables), High FIves (High Voltage), Inoubliable (T Boy Racing), and For The Boys (Rock Creek).

(¾ Mile- 1:11.71)- Range Of The Sun continues to lead down the backstretch, and begins to pull away from Relate a bit, moreso because that rival seemed unable to carry this pace. Those who were stalking behind him all moved over a lane, and the horse in a great position in the turn once this happened was Crack Dab. He would not waste any time making his move either, drawing closer at the top of the turn, and being just a length back. Final Decision and Mr Grusome seemed in good position, but did not have as clear of a lane.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- It seemed like Crack Dab would take over the lead while in the turn, and this is how it would play out. By the time they hit the top of the stretch, he had nearly pulled a full length ahead of Range Of The Sun, but his work was not done yet, as there were challengers looming behind him. As others seemed to hold their ground, looking a little further back in the pack, Telladifferentstory was a good one to watch. He had moved up a bit in the first half of the turn, but as they hit the exit, he kicked it into a gear that made you know that he was about to make a charge for the lead. He had about three and a half lengths to make up in the stretch, so while not an easy task, not something that would be impossible. His bigger problem looked like it would be maneuvering the traffic in front of him.

(Finish- 1:47.75)- Crack Dab seems to take command early in the stretch, and pulls out to a length lead over Range Of The Sun. Others that were these the closest to him were among those that he had outrun in the turn, so all seemed well. Telladifferentstory was still about three lengths from the lead, and still had to find his way through traffic. In the final furlong though, Telladifferentstory was much better than everyone else, and his stablemate, Final Decision, courteously moved over him to make this run. Still, Crack Dab seemed ok, but began drifting very late. But in the end, there would not be enough time for Telladifferentstory, as he settles for second behind our winner, Crack Dab! High Fives stuck to the rail in the stretch as he advanced, and while it was never going to be for the win, it does get him third. Range Of The Sun gets the fourth place check, narrowly over Mr Grusome and Southern Attitude. The rest of the order is Final Decision, Red Divos Alliance, Izzy Mendelbaum, Relate, Inoubliable, and For The Boys.

About The Winner- Crack Dab, trained by Gdp Inc, and ridden to victory by Ru Fuentes, is a five year old gelding by Safecracker, and is out of S S Drabby. He was bred in New York by Gdp Inc as a first quarter two year old, and they have been together throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his tenth in 29 starts, his fifth stake win, and third graded win. His career earnings are now $1,291.140.

Horse Name

Owner Name

Jockey

Odds

Fin

Time

SRF

Crack Dab

Gdp Inc

Fuentes Ru

4.50

1^1/2