ELP Juvenile
7 Furlongs Dirt Stake Purse $250.00 Two-Year-Olds. At ELP

1st      Blood Moon Rising     Nakamura Stables     7-1 (HRP) 12-1 (SRF)

Blood Moon Rising ran this race pretty much the way he ran The Sanford except in The Sanford he stalked the pace moving up to be third at the top of the stretch and the flattened out down the lane. Today when he reached the top of the stretch, he was a much closer third, and he just kept storming home, passing every horse in his way to a neck victory. Now Nak gelded him before this race. So, he’s probably happy it worked. It’s going to take an awful lot to convince me he would not have developed this way anyhow. I do wish it was something you could take off and put back on, like my detachable penis.

 2nd      Umoja                        London Racing              5-1 (HRP) 5-1 (SRF)

Umoja came within a neck of remaining undefeated… and it was a beautiful thing to behold as he was tenth on the backstretch, seventh at the three-quarter pole and he came storming down the stretch missing by only that neck. So far, he has gotten farther back with each race. Of course, that likely has to do with the increased number of competitors in each race, but please tell him to stop that.

3rd      Boutte       Royalty Stables               *9-2 (HRP) 4-1 (SRF)

I mentioned in my preview that Boutte could provide the pace, and sure enough,  he hooked up with Waypoint for a head-to-head for the first quarter, and then Von Richthofen moved in to continue the head-to-head right on up to the wire ending in a dead heat between Boutte and Von Richthofen. If ever a race was set up for closers, this was it.   

3rd      Von Richthofen                  Mb Stables               8-1 (HRP) 20-1 (SRF)

Von Richthofen won his debut at TUP by four lengths and was promptly sold for $150.00. Now, gelded and brought here for his second race, he finishes third in a $250.00 race. Not a bad start to life, and he did it with courage every step of the way.

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded