Gallant Bob Stakes (Grade 2)- $300.000 Purse
PRX- For Three Year Olds
Six Furlongs on the Dirt
September 24, 2022
Iron Mine was purchased by Fractious in private sales this March for $125.000, and the new trainer is to be commended for the great work that he has done with the horse. Since the sale, the horse has been hot but now he is much more than that as a win in the Gallant Bob Stakes puts him in the conversation as one of the better BC Sprint contenders. There was nothing wrong with the way the horse was running with Jive Inc., as he was productive in NM-bred races, but now with Fractious he has three graded wins in five starts. The Gallant Bob was his best effort yet, so he’ll be going into the BC about as good as anyone would hope for. Iron Mine was the post time favorite, and was our pick as well. For Fractious, it is his first win in the Gallant Bob Stakes, and that is also true for jockey L Saez. Congratulations to them! The time of the race was 1:08.58, just .02 off the stake record. Let’s take a look at it!
(1/4 Mile- :22.52)- The field of ten breaks in an alignment of four horses running together at the front, three stalkers a length behind them side by side by side, and then the other three also next to one another, a length and a half further back. The lead group sees the outer most horse, Mo Mentum Farm’s Elemental try to inch away from the other three and he ends up being almost a full length ahead after a quarter mile. Championship Rounds, who is in the third lane, is second for Mb Stables, with Rock Creek’s Viking Lucy in third. On the rail, the South Shore Stables- trained entry, Adams Song is fourth but still in the front group. Moving on to the stalkers, Battle City, from Night Rider Stables, has a neck in front of the other two. This is where we find our eventual winner, Iron Mine, out of Fractious. For now, Iron Mine is running in the second lane, right behind Viking Lucy. Between these two, Arindel’s Tiger Shark, the second choice on the board, is seventh. The back three are Count Hound (Wood Duck Stables), No More Rattle (Bigchief Stables), and Model Commander (TwinTowersRacing).
(Top Of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Early in the turn, Elemental pulls a length and a half ahead of the other three that he had been running with, and while he continues to run in good form, Adams Song began to bow out. Championship Rounds and Viking Lucy were still hanging in there, but this would allow room for Iron Mine to come through once Adams Song fell back. Near the exit of the turn, Viking Lucy pulled forward to make a move on the lead, further creating an opportunity for Iron Mine, and the post time favorite seemed poised to make a great stretch push. We didn’t see anyone else from the middle group making a push, but further back, No More Rattle hit his best stride and would look to follow Iron Mine through the field.
(Finish- 1:08.58)- Early in the stretch, things were looking good for Viking Lucy, and Iron Mine was still a length behind him with a furlong to go. But in that final furlong, Iron Mine would show that he had much more left in the tank, and quickly pulled alongside Viking Lucy to take the lead. Also looking real good would be No More Rattle, and he made quick work of everyone else but the winner. At the wire, Iron Mine had a length on the field, with No More Rattle running second with a similar advantage on third place Viking Lucy. He tired late, and almost lost third to Tiger Shark, who ran consistently to the wire. Model Commander is the best of the rest, beating Model City, Elemental, Count Hound, Championship Rounds, and Adams Song.
About The Winner- Iron Mine, trained by Fractious and ridden to victory by L Saez, is a three year old gelding by Captain Rush and is out of the late Ironbound Heartstead. He was bred in New Mexico by Jive Inc as a yearling, and acquired by Fractious for $125.000 in a March 2022 private sale. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his fourth in 13 starts, and his third stake win, all of which are graded. He is three-for-five with Fractious, and his career earnings are now $561.200.
Track: Fast
Time: :222 :451 :564 1:082
$2 Mutuel Prices:
$1 Exacta: 1 – 4 Paid 35.70
$1 Trifecta: 1 – 4 – 5 Paid 448.20
Scratched: None
— NS
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES
