Triple Bend Stakes – Grade II
7 Furlongs Dirt Stake Purse $200.000 Open 4 Year Olds and Up.

1st Bigmouth Raj Night Rider Stables Rispoli U

These types of races are so often impossible to pick the winner on form alone, sometimes it can seem almost random but in fact the winning of them tends to come down to a horse hitting form at the right time and getting the gaps when they need them. Both of those things applied here as this five-year-old that was claimed for just $9.000 last July kept showing the sort of improvement that is essential and took another step up the ladder. Interestingly the trainer bred this one and then lost it for just $7.500 in a claimer, they then missed buying it back for $12.500 and eventually 4 months later claimed him back for $9.000 So, the trainer clearly felt there was something there but having lost it so cheaply clearly didn’t think this was a BC Sprint contender. But here he is today a fully-fledged BC contender after getting the gaps and hitting form on the track and in his works at the right time. Whatever Night Rider is feeding their horses clearly works as we have seen claimed horses join this stable and suddenly improve to stakes horses so often that it can’t be just coincidence.

2nd Plan To Wheel Fractious Cedillo A

Right on the speed in a faster running time that this in the Kona last time either the race engine or the trainer turned him into more of a closer today and he ran really well to be second. This is another of those five-year-olds that is enjoying maturity, and I suspect we will see the first two clash again before the year is out.

3rd California Sun Royalty Stables Hernandez J J

A wide gate so the race engine tends to give you first or last and this time it got and right chose route A for the front runner. Setting a solid pace, he was always going to be vulnerable but clung onto third really gamely. The seven furlongs at this level may test his stamina a bit too much but this is making up into an effective sprinter.

4th All Take Alydar Stables Van Dyke D

The Preakness winner did everything right but just lacked the speed at the end of his race today. So many top threes tend to struggle at four and then come back stronger as five-year-olds, so I wouldn’t be writing him off just yet despite a long losing run.

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES