The Bold Ruler Handicap (Grade 3)- $200.000 Purse
BEL- For Three Year Olds and Upward
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
October 29, 2016

Gma Is My Hero had a successful career up to this point, but it could be fair to say that it was a career that was lacking a real signature victory.  He had some quality wins in overnights, and ran competitively in many graded events including recent Grade 1’s where he went up against the likes of the great A One, among others.  Winning a graded stake certainly seemed like something he was capable of doing, but it was still eluding him.  At BEL on Saturday, he always looked to have a great chance, and while we considered putting him on top, we did look another direction and go with another, though did consider Gma Is My Hero our second choice.  So, it was a little surprising to see the public let him go off at odds of 9/1.  Had we expected that, we would have put him on top! At the end of the day, Gma Is My Hero now finally has that win on his resume that happy trainer Aer Stables can point to as a career highlight (so far, of course).  Speaking of Aer Stables, he has just won the stake for the second year in a row, as Roxys Triple Crown got it done in 2015 for him.  He is the third stable to win this race twice, and the second to do it in successive years.   Jockey I Ortiz Jr wins the race for the second time, putting him two behind R Maragh, who impressive has virtually ridden four Bold Ruler winners.  The time of the win was 1:21.65, placing it third quickest in the stakes history when run at seven furlongs.  Roxys Triple Crown holds the stake record.  Congratulations! Let’s look at how it was won!

1st- 3- Gma Is My Hero (9/1)- Our eventual winner from Aer Stables went off at unexpected high odds given that he always seemed to be one of the top choices in here.   He was quick out of the gate, though never threatened Sky Heights for the early lead.  Instead, I Ortiz Jr opted to keep him in a sensible stalking position down the backstretch, about a length and a half behind.  He was not concerned about the momentary push from Rave, and continued to run his race around the turn.  Passing Sky Heights was a combination of his advance and that one’s regress, and then he made Rave look bad with an easy pass of him for the race as they moved their way into the stretch.   At the top of the stretch, there was some movement at the back of the field, but it was looking more like a battle for second. I Ortiz Jr kept Gma Is My Hero in good stride in case a strong run emerged from that pack.  Geeky Pleasure started to come on, but Gma Is My Hero was too far ahead at that point and is able to pick up the win!  Gma Is My Hero is a four year old colt by Power Vest and becomes that one’s second stake winner.  He is out of Fanatic About You (Die Laffin and Five Daddy Five lines) and was bred in New York as a second quarter two year old by Aer Stables, the only trainer for which he has ever known.  Congratulations to the connections!

2nd- 6- Geeky Pleasure (5/1)- The entry from Riggins Racing was not concerned with the early pace, and went right to the back of the field with only Bright Castle behind him.  Moved over to the third lane as field progressed into the turn, and this would be beneficial as it would keep him out of the traffic problems that Academy would deal with, and it kept Bright Castle from taking this lane for himself.  While others seemed to send more time then desired searching for a lane, Geeky Pleasure never needed to break stride.  At the top of the stretch, he had three lengths to make up, and it was there for the taking if he had the closing kick to do it.  He closed hard, but Gma Is My Hero was too strong.  He prevailed over the 5-way photo for third by half a length and its fair to say that the move he made early was the difference in being ahead of that, part of, or behind it.

3rd- 7- Bright Castle (5/2)- Our pre-race selection from John Henry was also made the post time favorite by the betting public.  Right from the gate, he had some people concerned as he promptly went to the back of the field especially considering recent history showed him to want to be up front.  J R Velazquez was still looking for room to run around the turn, but there no lanes to split the field yet, and Geeky Pleasure prevented an outside move.  At the top of the stretch, he continued to trail, and was nearly four lengths out.  Made mild progress in the stretch, but this third must be taken in the context of it being a 5-way photo for third that he came out on top with.  May have been better in this one staying on the lead.

4th- 2- Academy (5/1)- It was an uneventful start for the D J C Racing Stables colt as he took up a position in the middle of the field about three and a half back as the field moved into the turn.  Look to find some room to run in the turn but Sky Heights did him no favors.  In a way, it may have been better if that one just dropped to the back quickly, but his gradual losing touch with the field meant a prolonged time where Academy was really unable to gear up for his own stretch run.  By the time he could get going, he looked pretty good, and more then likely he would have finished second here with better luck.

5th- 5- Magnifico (16/1)- Despite having won the Bold Ruler Handicap as a trainer twice in the past, Night Rider Stables saw his entry go off as the longest shot on the board.   He would not start all that well, but would settle into a position in the middle of the field as the race moved down the backstretch.  In the turn, it seemed as though he was just maintaining his stride and a couple of the early frontrunners were coming back to him more then his own moving forward, and never had a push.  This is evidenced by the fact that he was passed by three horses in the stretch. (Geeky Pleasure, Bright Castle, and Academy).

6th- 4- Sky Heights (7/2)- The entry from Kopites would began the race well and would serve as our opening pacesetter.  Led by a little more then a length when they hit the quarter mile mark, and the pace of :23.16 certainly seemed reasonable for him.  Midway into the turn, he would lose the lead to Rave, but it would be when Gma Is My Hero went by did it seem as though Sky Heights was no longer interested in contending for a win.  By the time it was time to run in the stretch, he had already called it a day.

7th- 8- Rave (7/1)- Was not initially quick at the start for Mb Stables, although L Saez would push him closer to the front prior to reaching the turn.  This advance, while four wide, would see him take the lead about midway into the turn and at this point of the race all seemed really good for him.  Did not have an answer when Gma Is My Hero went by before hitting the stretch, but was still second with a furlong to go.  At that point, the pack would make its way by to his inside.

8th- 1- Blowin Smoke (15/1)- Started well out of the gate for Grimley and would end up stalking pacesetter Sky Heights in the early moments.  This seemed to be short lived, as about midway into the turn, Blowin Smoke simply had difficulty keeping up the field.  He never had a moment where you would say the bottom fell out, it was more of a gradual regression for the second half of the race.

Track: Fast
Time: :23   :46¹  1:09²  1:21³

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 3 – 6 Paid 43.80
$1 Trifecta: 3 – 6 – 7 Paid 351.60

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES