San Vicente Stakes (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
SA- For Three Year Olds
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
January 6, 2024
In his last race, Excoriator struggled to say the least. He’s still a young horse, with only three races prior to the San Vicente and his work times looked very promising. He should be better than he was in the Remsen but could not afford to have another race like that. In the San Vicente Stakes, Excoriator was able to run like his workouts say that he should be running, and he picked up the big victory! Now, it’s still going to take more races like this to shed the label of “inconsistent” that is next to his name, and trainer Jerry Garcia Racing hopes that there will be efforts just like this one during 2024. It’s the first win in this race for Jerry, and the second for jockey F Prat, who previously won in 2020. The time of the win was 1:22.00, not one of the quickest times of late, but all that was needed. Let’s take a look at it!
(1/4 Mile- :22.53)- Several horses looked like they would have a shot to grab the early lead right out of the gate, but emerging with the top spot after a quarter mile would be the Mb Stables- trained Freakie The Ghost. He would lead Maxmillion Farm’s Powerful Explosion by half a length, and these two eventually pulled away just a bit. Running third would be Redd Out, and the Night Rider Stables entry held a length advantage over Allinthegate’s Take The South Fork. Next would come out eventual winner from Jerry Garcia Racing, Excoriator, who ran evenly with Fractious- trained Capiche with Coronado Beach nearby for Alydar Stables. There was about a four-length gap behind them to the trailers, Freak On Parade (Angelos Stable) and Normatec (Chili King Stables).
(½ Mile- :45.62, Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- At the end of the backstretch, Freakie The Ghost and Powerful Explosion would extend their lead over the rest of the field as they battled it out between one another. This would continue for most of the turn, but as they approached the top of the stretch, we would see others begin to close in, led by Redd Out. He was preparing to pass Powerful Explosion, who was unable to keep up with Freakie The Ghost, and a four wide group of Excoriator, Capiche, Take The South Fork, and Coronado Beach. Further back, it would take a massive effort out of the Freak On Parade and Normatec in the stretch at this point.
(Finish- 1:22.00)- Freakie The Ghost leads going into the stretch, and he’s doing his best to hang on, but with every stride, there are several making just enough progress. We still didn’t know which one of these that it would be, so the race between themselves would be just as interesting as the push to catch the pacesetter. Midway in the stretch, Excoriator began to emerge as the quickest while coming from the outside. Redd Out was very much in the picture, and Capiche was also battling hard. Coronado Beach was doing all he could on the extreme outside. As we get to the wire, it would be Excoriator getting the job done in an entertaining race to the finish. Freakie the Ghost narrowly holds on to second, and in a three-way photo for show, it’s Capiche over a dead heat between Redd Out and Coronado Beach. Quite honestly, I liked how all five of them ran. Take The South Fork is the best of the rest, beating Freak On Parade, Normatec, and the fatigued Powerful Explosion.
About the Winner- Excoriator, trained by Jerry Garcia Racing and ridden to victory by F Prat, is a three-year-old colt by State Police and is out of By My Side. He was bred by Jerry Garcia Racing in Kentucky as a first quarter two-year-old, and they have been together throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his second in four starts, and his first stake win. His career earnings are now $174.000.
Track: Fast
Time: :222 :453 1:094 1:22
$2 Mutuel Prices:
$1 Exacta: 7 – 1 Paid 37.80
$1 Trifecta: 7 – 1 – 3 Paid 776.40
Scratched: None
— NS
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES
