The GP Sprint Championship ($125.000 Purse)
GP- For Four Year Olds and Upward
Six Furlongs on the Dirt
February 25, 2023

The field was small for the GP Sprint Championship, a race that historically has drawn at least ten horses. It had been a graded stake up until this year, but the purse was in line with recent editions, so I don’t think that downgrade played that much of an impact. We would have just five going to post this time, and they seemed to be fairly evenly matched. Grabbing the victory would be Binnington, a horse that just sold for $50.000 and made his debut here for trainer Riggins Racing. Certainly, a great way to make a first impression! For Riggins, it is his first win in the GP Sprint Championship, and that is also true for jockey I Ortiz Jr. Congratulations to them! The time of the race was 1:09.05, the third fastest of the editions of the race that were run at six furlongs. Let’s tale a look at it!

(1/4 Mile- :22.51)- Blitz Point, from Lemax Farms, jumps out to the early lead and clears the rest of the field by a length as we move down the backstretch. They are three wide right behind him, with the eventual race winner, Binnington, running in the third lane for Riggins Racing and having a neck in front of the other two. On the rail with this group is Asgar’s Sneaky Wolf and between horses, we have Junkyard Dog (Nakamura Stables). Tko (Axeman) is at the back, but only a length behind those three.

(1/2 Mile- :45.64, Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Running around the turn, Blitz Point continues to hold the lead, but Binnington gains a bit of ground with every stride, especially over the second half of the turn. Binnington is still in the third lane as he does this, and by the time they reach the top of the stretch, he is side by side with Blitz Point. Junkyard Dog has not gone with him, and is still a length back, and Sneaky Wolf has fallen further behind. Tko has yet to make a move, and still trails.

(Finish- 1:09.05)- Soon in the stretch, Binnington takes the lead from Blitz Point and begins to inch further and further away. I Ortiz Jr could take a quick look behind his shoulder at this point and see that no one new was gaining any ground quickly enough. Junkyard Dog ended up taking the second spot but was a length behind Binnington for about the entire second half of this race. Tko made a wide move late in the stretch, and while that allowed him to grab third place spoils from the tiring Blitz Point, it was far too late to be a push for the win. Sneaky Wolf had no stretch response at all and finishes fifth.

About the Winner- Binnington, trained by Riggins Racing and ridden to victory by I Ortiz Jr, is a four-year-old gelding by Sydney Harbour and is out of Good In The Shed. He was bred in New York by Royalty Stables as a second quarter two-year-old and acquired by Riggins, via Tockyocky with a $50.000 private sales purchase at the beginning of this month. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his fourth in 18 starts, and his second stake win. His career earnings are now $353.190.

Track: Fast
Time: :22²  :45³  :57¹  1:09

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 5 – 3 Paid 13.20
$1 Trifecta: 5 – 3 – 1 Paid 17.70

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded