Iroquois (Grade 3)- $300.000 Purse
CD- For Two Year Olds
One Mile on the Dirt
September 14, 2024

The morning line odds for Street Magician were 12/1, but the gelding would see a lot of love in the pick ‘em, and that would lead to those odds dropping all the way to 3/1, and just narrowly missing becoming the post-time favorite. Street Magician would show that all of the support was justified as he rebounding from a sluggish outing in the Best Pal Stakes to win the Iroquois with a come from behind effort. He was among our picks as well, but not the top choice. Street Magician is trained by Fractious, who wins this stake for the second time, with the previous edition being in 2020 with the late Afterburner. Mar Garcia is a first-time winner. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:35.49, the third quickest such time of the editions of the race that were an even mile. Let’s take a look at it:

(1/4 Mile- :23.23)- Super Gremlin breaks well from the starting gate for Maxmillion Farm, as does Asgar’s Hunt For Phun, and these two will battle it out for the top spot as we move down the backstretch. It’s a length and a half to the third place, Alydar Stables- owned, Into Mischief, who runs as the third horse of a three wide group that stalks the pace. Also, there are Maxmillion Farm’s Z Freak, who is between horses, and Tuff Gong, who is on the inside for Winning Link Stables. T D Syndrome runs sixth for TwinTowersRacing right behind that group, and Intergration is within a half lane while three wide for D J C Racing Stables. Within a length of these two and positioned to come between them is where we find our eventual winner from Fractious, Street Magician. For now, he has about four and a half lengths to make up and is head of only the post time favorite from Mb Stables, What I Love To Do.

(½ Mile- :46.89)- Very little changes as we go down the backstretch. Super Gremlin and Hunt For Phun are still running alongside one another, with neither giving in to the other. It’s still about a length and a half to Into Mischief, Z Freak, and Tuff Gong, who remain three wide in the same alignment they were in previously. Behind them, it’ s also much as it was before, with Street Magician running between Intergreation and TD Syndrome, with both of them slightly ahead of him. It’s about another two lengths to What I Love To Do.

(Top of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- As the field moves around the turn, Hunt For Phun begins to get the edge on Super Gremlin and is about a length in front of him entering the stretch. Behind these two, several horses are looking to make a move. Z Freak is in third but has been able to pull away from the two he had been running with earlier, Tuff Gong and Into Mischief. Tuff Gong is still running decently to the inside, but the same cannot be said for Into Mischief as that one begins to tire. Intergration swings out five wide to try and get around them as he gets closer to the front. Street Magician has made some progress as well, but unlike Intergration, he is able to simply hold his lane around the turn and entering the stretch. Meanwhile, T D Syndrome was backing out and What I Love To Do had not shown much.

(Finish- 1:35.49)- Early in the stretch, Hunt For Phun tries to hang on up front, and Super Gremlin would not begin to get leg weary until later on. Z Freak was running evenly with the leaders, but did not seem to have the needed added gear to make a move on them. Intergration was looking good on the outside, and Street Magician gradually was cutting into the lead. With a furlong to go, there were four horses within a length of the leader, and Street Magician was one of them, which was good for him, since that meant he was outkicking the likes of Intergration. It would be close amongst them as we got closer to the wire, and a photo would be needed to officially determine the winner. It would show that Street Magician had defeated Intergration by a head, and it would be a length to the pacesetter, Hunt For Phun, with Z Freak taking fourth. The rest of the order will read What I Love To Do, Super Gremlin, Tuff Gong, Into Mischief, and T D Syndrome.

About The Winner- Street Magician, trained by Fractious and ridden to victory by Mar Garcia, is a two-year-old gelding by Kamikaze and is out of Special Moves. He was bred in Ontario as a first quarter two-year-old by Fractious, the only trainer for which he has ever known. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his third in four starts, and first stake win. His career earnings are now $210.600.

Track: Fast
Time: :23¹  :46⁴  1:11  1:35²

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 2 – 9 Paid 94.60
$1 Trifecta: 2 – 9 – 7 Paid 629.00

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES