February 20, 2016

The fact that four horses were listed at 3-1 in the Pelican Stakes shows the depth of the field assembled on Saturday afternoon and while the speed was expected to come from Whiskey Town, it was Blind Danzing who took the early lead and held on courageously to score his second straight win to start 2016. A half-brother to stakes winner Danzing By The Bay, he had been knocking at the door as a three-year-old with multiple stakes placings but finally came through for a big win here by a nose, earning another 90+ speed rating while pushing past $200.000 in earnings with his fourth career score.

Speed came from a single horse in the Pelican but it was not from the expected frontrunner as Blind Danzing (3.10) sprinted to command early while a wall of three lined up behind him including favourite Insurrection (*3.00) between horses. As the group of six rocketed through the first split in 22.71, Reel Steal (3.55) took up the mantle three-wide against the leader as Insurrection started to falter and that left Whiskey Town (3.20) in a tough spot, lacking room except for an outside run. Blind Danzing still had plenty left into the far turn with only Reel Steal as his rival and while Charlie Brown Jr (5.70) held the rail, he could not make any ground through a half-mile in 45.35. At the head of the lane, the two leaders were engaged in a pitched battle while 2.5-lengths clear of the rest and as the backfield bunched in a scramble for third, Blind Danzing used a loose lead and even splits to hold on for dear might and after briefly losing the lead late, came back on to score by a whisker from Reel Steal, with Whiskey Town finally salvaging third. Enduring Class (12.80) came briefly for fourth from Insurrection in fifth and Charlie Brown Jr last but there was no doubt about the top two who both deserved to win after an epic struggle.

Blind Danzing was excellent from off-the-pace last time over this same course and distance but found himself on the lead in the Pelican and became a duel winner in 2016, with both wins coming by a mere whisker. Now he can ship up to AQU for a race like the Grade II Fool Handicap and know that he is clearly good enough to handle the class and the distance with the confidence needed to be a true star at the age of four.

Congratulations goes out to owner Mm Stables and their four-year-old colt Blind Danzing, a wire-to-wire winner of the Pelican Stakes at TAM!

Prediction                Whiskey Town / Insurrection / Blind Danzing

Winner                     Blind Danzing

                                    Four-year-old bay colt

                                    Blind As A Bat-Danzing Safari (Auto-Generated)

Owner                       Mm Stables

Time                          22.71, 45.35, 56.93, 1:09.11

Overall

Blind Danzing         3.10 broke sharp, clear early, determined

Reel Steal                  3.55 stalked, pressed forward, missed

Whiskey Town         3.20 fell back early, wide rally

Enduring Class        12.80 evenly between rivals

Insurrection              *3.00 no late momentum

Charlie Brown Jr     5.70 outrun late

Triple T Racing 🙂

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded