Silks Run ($100.000 Purse)
GP- For Four Year Olds and Upward
Five Furlongs on the Turf
March 18, 2023
Last month, Z Baby Blue took part in a similar race to the Silks Run, the $100.000 Turf Dash over at TAM, which would be his third win in four starts. In a mostly full field, he seemed to be a good contender, but others may have had a little more name recognition. As such, Z Baby Blue was left out of our picks, and allowed to become a 10/1 longshot. That would not matter to him, as the gelding by Zed made his way to GP and would run near the front enroute to ultimately scoring the win, setting in motion some pretty high overall payouts. The FL-bred is trained by Asgar and was ridden by E J Wilson. For each, it is their first win in this race. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was :56.23, and the sets a new record for the stake, besting last years’ time by just .03. Let’s take a look at how it happened!
(1/4 Mile- :22.20)- We have a strong run down the backstretch as several horses seem interested in grabbing the early lead, and this leads us into the turn with Elijah G being credited with a slight lead for Mb Stables. Majestic Moon, trained by Riggins Racing, is running right there with him in the second position, and between these two, about a quarter length behind them, is our eventual winner out of Asgar, Z Baby Blue. Axeman’s Cover Photo, who was our pre-race pick, was also interested in running with them but having the outside lane did not help him in that regard. Last City runs fifth for Lemax Farms, and he is only a length from the lead. Near to him is the Nj Vets entry, Reds Gone. Two others are close to them too, only a length and a half from the lead: Express Majestic (Hawaiian Shirt Guy) and Roman Rage (Gdp Inc). Extreme longshot Southern Fame (Mojica Racing) is next along the outside. Then, we have a bit of a gap to the two trailers: Mystery (Fractious) and Silver Woman (Hippyheart).
(Top of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- The field stretches out a little bit around the turn, and Elijah G is now almost a full length in front for the run down the stretch. Not letting him get away fully is Z Baby Blue as that one confidently runs in the second lane but he still has company close by. To his outside, he must deal with Majestic Moon and Cover Photo, and Last City is still on his inside. Reds Gone, Roman Rage, and Express Majestic are all in striking race while Southern Fame makes a wide move moreso because he had no other option. Mystery has caught up to the rest of the pack now, but Silver Woman still lags behind.
(Finish- :56.23)- Early in the stretch, Elijah G is looking good, and he seems to shake off all but one of his challengers. He is simply unable to get away from Z Baby Blue, who continues to be his shadow within a length to his outside. With a furlong to go, Z Baby Blue starts inching ever so closer to the leader, but would he be able to get there in time? E J Wilson just kept with it, kept asking his horse for a little more, and as the wire approached, he would draw even with Elijah G. We would need to get a look at a photo just to be sure, but the end result is Z Baby Blue getting a win by a head and setting a new stake record in the process. Elijah G runs a game second, and he would have just been off by .01 of that stake record, too. Running third, and ensuring a high trifecta was massive longshot Southern Fame who may have run closer to five and a half furlongs with the route he was in. Cover Photo takes fourth, over Roman Rage, Last City, and Reds Gone, who were all heads apart. Rounding it out are Mystery, Express Majestic, Majestic Moon, and Silver Woman.
About The Winner- Z Baby Blue, trained by Asgar and ridden to victory by E J Wilson, is a five year old gelding by Zed and is out of the late Blue Baby. He was bred in Florida by Barcelona Farms as a yearling and was acquired by Asgar in the June 2021 auction for just $3.020. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his sixth in 16 starts, and his second stake win. His career earnings are now $328.120.
Track: Firm
Time: :221 :443 :561
$2 Mutuel Prices:
$1 Exacta: 4 – 3 Paid 114.30
$1 Trifecta: 4 – 3 – 10 Paid 1,157.80
Scratched: None
— NS
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded
