The Fleet Sprint Handicap (Grade 3)- $500.000 Purse
OP- For Four Year Olds and Upward
Six Furlongs on the Dirt
April 16, 2022
There are horses that sell or are claimed for large amounts, and then there are those who change hands cheaply. Crimson Sun is an example of a horse that did not have a large price associated with him, as it only took $6.500 for Royalty Stables to claim him last September. Since then, he had run well, but had just one win, which was an allowance. Now, he has that stake win, and it was a big one here in the $500.000 Fleet Sprint Handicap. It’s the first win in the race for Royalty Stables, and the jockey, J Talamo. Congratulations to them! The winning race time was 1:08.60. Let’s take a look!
(1/4 Mile- :22.37)- Despite carrying some extra weight, Chip Away jumps out to the early lead for South Shore Stables and quickly opens up a two length lead. Running in second is our eventual winner, Crimson Sun, for Royalty Stables, and he is able to run the rail for the backstretch and moving into the turn. He has the Maxmillion Farm trained Legend Larry to his outside, and Smokey Stover’s Carnoustie running in the third lane. Next up come Settle The Score Vr, from John Henry, and Insist Always, from Mb Stables. They are about a half length ahead of Hard Discretion (TwinTowersRacing) and Stand In Line (Angelos Stable). Stormy Liberal (Big Guns Stable) and Play Along (Nakamura Stables) come next, and at the back, it’s Mo Town (Spankys Barn).
(Top of Stretch, 1.6F To Go)- Chip Away handles the turn very well, and moves into the stretch with a length and a half lead. As good as he was looking, Crimson Sun was gradually beginning to cut into his lead, being especially good over the second half of the turn. In the process, he pulled away from Legend Larry and Carnoustie. There’s a four wide group behind them consisting of Insist Always, Hard Discretion, Settle The Score Vr, and Stand In Line, and time was running out for them. For the rest, it probably already had.
(Finish- 1:08.60)- For a little while in the stretch, it looked like Crimson Sun was unable to chip away at the leader’s advantage any further. Approaching the wire, however, Crimson Sun had a gear that Chip Away was not able to have, and maybe those couple extra pounds had a lot to do with that. In the end, there would be enough time for Crimson Sun, and he scores the win in a photo over Chip Away and the late surging Insist Always. Carnoustie nips Settle The Score Vr for the final piece of the purse. Rounding it out, it’s Stand In Line, Hard Discretion, Mo Town, Stormy Liberal, Legend Larry, and Play Along.
About The Winner- Crimson Sun, trained by Royalty Stables and ridden to victory by J Talamo, is a five year old gelding by Lightyear, and is out of Red Kitten. He was bred in California as a first quarter two year old by Allinthegate, and was acquired by Royalty Stables from the breeder with a $6.500 claim in September 2021. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his seventh in 25 starts, his second stake win, and first graded win. His career earnings are now $587.250.
Track: Fast
Time: :221 :444 :562 1:083
$2 Mutuel Prices:
$1 Exacta: 7 – 12 Paid 59.40
$1 Trifecta: 7 – 12 – 2 Paid 741.10
Scratched: Higher Drift(L)
— NS
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES
