Allison Derby ($100.000 Purse)
SUN- For Three Year Olds
One Mile on the Dirt
January 19, 2024

On Monday, Backroad Bounty opened a lot of eyes with a lightning-fast work at SA at a mile, and just four days later he was ready to show everyone how good that he could be. Prior to the race, Backroad Bounty was not a name on the KYD hopeful list since he had only been lightly raced to this point. The last time we had seen him, it was at FE in October where he broke his maiden and has clearly improved since then. Backroad Bounty was our pick to win in the preview. Oh, wait, it wasn’t because the writer made a typo, hitting “5″ instead of “6″. (If you read the preview, and what I said about the “5″ clearly, I was not about to pick him to win!) Well, just like if you pressed the wrong number at the betting window, you can’t cash your ticket, and if this was real, I would certainly be kicking myself over missing the 21/1 payout. What is real is that Aer Stables has himself a good one as he picks up his third Allison Derby win. His previous winners were Pericles (2019) and Russian Capo (2020) though neither really did much after their win. T J Hebert is the winning rider, his first. Congratulations to them! The winning time was 1:35.17, the third quickest in the race’s history. Let’s take a look at it:

(1/4 Mile- :23.32)- Our eventual winner from Aer Stables, Backroad Bounty wastes no time and goes right out to the lead, but he does have some company nearby. Right to his inside is a horse that he will also see close to him at the finish, in the form of Fractious- trained California Class. Steamin Demon is in third for Acber Farms and is half a length behind while running in the third lane. Oquinn Farm’s Transformer and D J C Racing Stables’ Telegraph Road assume stalking positions behind the lead trio. Smith N Wesson, who we didn’t really intend to pick to win, but are on record as picking to win, is in the middle of the field for Nakamura Stables, along with Reverberate (Mb Stables) and the outside running Saddle Battle (Riggins Racing). Next are Chocolate Cherokee (Night Rider Stables), Bold Zionist (La Canada Racehorses), and Walk Em Down (Mb Stables), while Redeemer (Avenue Z) trails the field.

(½ Mile- :46.89)- Heading down the backstretch, Backroad Bounty and California Class go back and forth exchanging the lead, and at this call, California Class is slightly in front, so we can’t say Backroad Bounty went wire to wire. Steamin Demon has dropped back into third and now follows the top two, and both Transformer and Telegraph Road have lost some ground, dropping a couple lengths off the lead. Smith N Wesson and Saddle Battle are in the middle of the field, then Reverberate, with the final four running alongside one another in the back.

(Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- At the front of the field, it looks as though both Backroad Bounty and California Class have given the field the slip. They hold a two-length lead on third place Steamin Demon, but which of these two would be able to score the win. Backroad Bounty looked a little better on exit of the turn, but California Class was still hanging in there. Meanwhile, neither Transformer nor Telegraph Road are making a push, and Smith N Wesson is simply holding his line. Walk Em Down is the most ambitious of the group in back and pulls alongside Saddle Battle. But he has a long way to go.

(Finish- 1:35.17)- Backroad Bounty looks good in the stretch, and while he is never able to pull away from Califonia Class, he is safely ahead of him by a half-length, and will never relinquish that as he goes on to victory. And who is this flying in the end? Great effort by Walk Em Down to be third and only miss by a length. Impressive, for sure, but this race belongs to Backroad Bounty, and I am excited to watch him over the next couple months. Steamin Demon is a distant fourth but gets a little something for his trainer. Next is Telegraph Road, with Redeemer, Chocolate Cherokee, and Transformer somewhat nearby. The rest of the field, Smith N Wesson, Reverberate, Bold Zionist, and Saddle Battle, were disappointments.

About The Winner- Backroad Bounty, trained by Aer Stables and ridden by T J Hebert to victory, is a three-year-old gelding by Whatz Next For Me and is out of Backroad. He was bred by Jg3 as a first quarter two-year-old in California and was acquired by Aer Stables in private sales for $35.000. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his second in five starts and first stake win. His career earnings are now $73.610.

Track: Fast
Time: :23¹  :46⁴  1:10⁴  1:35

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 6 – 1 Paid 208.10
$1 Trifecta: 6 – 1 – 4 Paid 1,000.60

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded