Muniz Memorial Handicap (Grade 2)- $300.000 Purse
FG- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Turf
April 1, 2017

In 2016, Antelope Storm defeated a field of ten to win the Muniz.  Things have changed for him since then, including having a new trainer, and he would be ridden by a different jockey.  Scarletandgraystable purchased him from Grimley in the December auction for $149.000, and this will be their second win together.  D Lopez rode him for the first time, and certainly got the most out of him as Antelope Storm ran the nine furlongs on the turf in 1:44.81, which is 0.16 seconds quicker then he did when he won in 2016.   You can put that time in the books as the new track record here at FG as well.  Very well done by this gelding, indeed. Congratulations!  Let’s take a look!

(½ Mile- :46.14)- The early advantage goes to Kenny Wisconsin from Frozen Tundra, as both he and eventual winner Antelope Storm, from Scarletandgraystable, break exceptionally well from the two outermost positions.   They are able to cross over in front of the field to get to the rail in time for the turn.  Here, Kenny Wisconsin begin to pull away a little bit.  Crown National (Nakamura Stables) and the longtime veteran Sri Lanka (Hawaiian Shirt Guy) also start well and end up about a length behind Antelope Storm as we enter the backstretch.  The rest of the field is tightly packed together as Tower Isle (Winning Link Stables), Pass the Pesos (John Henry), and Pervoked (Blushing Meadows) are three wide. Hawaiian Maestro (Ekli Stable) is another half length back.  Pink Devil (Night Mare Racing) seemed to struggle out of the gate, and Stormy Collapse (Ekli Stable) trails.

(3/4 Mile- 1:09.40)- There was minimal movement in the backstretch most of the way, but things started to get interesting just prior to entering the turn.  Antelope Storm went up and caught Kenny Wisconsin at the top of the turn, and would prepare what would eventually be the pass for the win.  The two of them, however, had a two and a half length lead on the rest of the field, who getting tightly packed together.  Crown National and Sri Lanka were not ready to turn it on, and became sitting ducks for those behind him.  Both Pass The Pesos and Pervoked had to move their outside in the turn but were both full of run and poised to move forward.   Pink Devil seemed to want to make a move here, but J Talamo may have had to hesitate to see how things would play out between Pass The Pesos and Pervoked.   Hawaiian Maestro was between those two, and looking for his best lane as well.  Tower Isle and Stormy Collapse were forced into a mess due to the traffic.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.6F to go)- Antelope Storm was pouring it on in the turn and made Kenny Wisconsin look bad at this point as the did away with him with ease.  At the top of the stretch, Antelope Storm opened up a three length lead, that’s how quickly Kenny Wisconsin dropped off, and no one was emerging as a threat behind him.  Pass The Pesos would become the best of the pack and pull away from them, and was making the move into second, but it would be a miracle for him to catch Antelope Storm at this point.  Stormy Collapse was able to find a lane and move up in the turn, and Pink Devil was also looking good, but was well wide.  No one else was showing anything here.  Pervoked lost a length on Pass The Pesos.  Hawaiian Maestro had no response.  Tower Isle was sliding through on the inside a little, but it was too late for him to make an impact.   Crown National and Sri Lanka were done.

(Finish- 1:44.81)- All we’re doing here is watching Antelope Storm run and admire his dominating performance, to pick up his second win in the Muniz in a row.   He led by three, and did not concede any more then a length within the stretch.  There was not much drama for second either, as Pass The Pesos cleared the field and ran well to the wire.   Stormy Collapse actually put forth an excellent stretch run and had a good battle for third with Pink Devil, and it was a tight photo between them for that spot.   Everyone else, quite frankly, was a non-factor.   The running order of the final six was: Tower Isle, Kenny Wisconsin, Pervoked, Hawaiian Maestro, Sri Lanka, and Crown National.

About the winner: Antelope Storm is a six year old gelding by Stormy and out of Antelope Lady (Antelope Valley), ridden to victory D G Lopez.  He was bred in California as a first quarter two year old by Frozen Tundra. He was acquired by Scarletandgraystable via private sales from Grimley for $149.000 in the December 2016 auction.  Congratulations to the connections!

This was his 12th win in 26 career starts, and the fourth graded win for him.  His career earnings now sit at $997.500.

Track: Firm
Time: :46   1:09²  1:32⁴  1:44⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 10 – 3 Paid 28.50
$1 Trifecta: 10 – 3 – 1 Paid 135.00

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES