The Manhattan Handicap (Grade 1)- $1,000.000 Purse
BEL- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Quarter on the Inner Turf
June 11, 2016

Bombastic Kathology is one of those horses that we may just never be able to figure out.  When he wants to bring it, like we saw today, there is nothing that can get in his way.  We don’t always see this out of him, but there is no denying he was the best in the field today.  In all actuality, he made this look pretty easy, jumping out to the early lead with no one wanting to run with him.  You have to think that several jockeys are looking back at their decision not to be closer to Bombastic Kathology both in the backstretch, and as they were rounding the turn.  At the top of the stretch, Bombastic Kathology was in the clear, while the rest of the field all seemed jumbled together in a massive traffic jam.  Some, like Tuscon and Stormy Kg seemed as though they almost had to jump into the grandstand they were so wide.  F Pennington, a true master of the turf had nothing to worry about as he had plenty of horse underneath him to ride all the way to the wire.  Congrats to trainer Oval Express Farms, who has put up with the roller coaster ride of this talented Bombastic Evening colt!  It is the first win in the stake for both the trainer and the jockey, and the time of the win was 1:58.28.  Let’s look more at it!

1st- 11- Bombastic Kathology (23/1)- The eventual winner from Oval Express Farms was quick out of his outside post, and would be in the lead by the time they entered the first turn.  Antelope Storm looked like he was going to run with him initially, but Bombastic Kathology would clear him by a length and get to the rail at the top of the backstretch.  It is not often that we will say that the backstretch was the key to a race for a winner of a ten furlong event, but that is the case here.   There was no one in the field who showed any interest in running with him early, perhaps because they couldn’t keep up with his quick :46.23 1/2-mile and 1:09.34 3/4-mile fractional times, but you simply can’t allow a horse who has this kind of ability out on the lead like that.  At the top of the stretch, when it looked like you could throw a blanket on top of the other ten horses at once, F Pennington had to look back and smile knowing he was three lengths clear of all of that.  With a furlong to go, and still leading by three, some contenders such as Tuscon and Full Speed Ahead emerged from the cluster but as long as Bombastic Kathology had enough in him, their effort would be futile.   They would get closer, but Bombastic Kathology brought his A-Game today, and when he does that, he’s one of the best.  He would cruise to the wire, winning in a time of a 1:58.28!  Congrats to Oval Express Farms on the win!   Bombastic Kathology is a four year old colt by Bombastic Evening and out of Mrs Kathology.  He was bred in New York by Oval Express Farms as a yearling, and they have been together throughout! Congrats again!

2nd- 7- Tuscon (8/1)- Today’s runner up from Aer Stables stayed towards the back of the pack, ahead of just Full Speed Ahead and Pink Devil early on while running three wide around the opening turn.  He would maintain a steady stride through the backstretch trip, and not really look to advance at this point.  As they moved into the turn, many in the field began to fight for their position, and since Tucson was on the outside to begin with, he had no choice but to have to cover more and more ground with this wide trip.  In some respects, this might have a positive as well because it kept him out the pack where a handful of others were needing to check up.  In the stretch, he did all he could, and when you consider the extra race track that he had to cover today, there is nothing more that Tuscon could have done.

3rd- 2- Full Speed Ahead (9/1)- The Night Rider Stables entry went right to the back of the pack early to keep Pink Devil company in the early stages of the race.  During the backstretch run, we did not see any noteworthy advance out of him, and as they moved into the turn, the decision of S X Bridgmohan to not alter his horse’s path really paid off.  At the top of the stretch, just enough of a hole opened up between Visa Vice and Sri Lanka for him to squeeze on through, certainly making his trainer proud of such a move. From there, all you can say is that it was full speed ahead, for Full Speed Ahead! His stretch run was fantastic, but since Bombastic Kathology didn’t look to be letting up, it became more of a battle for second between him and Tuscon.

4th- 9- Round The Champion (33/1)-    It looked like the longshot from Threshold was going to run with the leaders early, but J R Leparoux had other ideas, and first dropped Round The Champion off the lead a couple lengths, and then settled him in to be in the middle of the pack, four lengths from Bombastic Kathology.  By the end of the backstretch, he dropped back more and it might have been easy to start thinking the 33/1 shot was done, but on entry of the final turn he became resurgent with life.  He did impressive well to match strides with Tuscon early on in the stretch run, but eventually he would just not be quite as quick as him.  Still, this should be a result the trainer is thrilled with!

5th- 6- Stormy Kg (14/1)- Despite finishing out of the money, the top finisher from Mb Stables had the much needed strong run that many wanted to see out of him.  Unlike some recent runs where he was towards the front early, today Stormy Kg was content to run near the back of the pack in the opening moments.  Like several others with the same plan, Stormy Kg looked to make a move about midway into the turn, but his stablemate Visa Vice was in his path.  The only option for J R Velazquez was to swing him about as wide as possible in the stretch, and once he got there, he was full of run.  Not the finish the trainer wants, but the effort was a plus.

6th- 3- Visa Vice (6/1)- Our old man of the group, the gritty nine year old from Mb Stables would start the race off much where he would end up finishing it.   Around the opening the turn, he would be midpack and running with Round The Champion and Stormy Kg, about 4 ½ lengths from the leaders.  Continued to maintain a steady cruising speed in the backstretch, but had to move out of his preferred lane a couple times in what may have been one of the bigger traffic jams he has been involved with in his 64-race career.  Eventually, at the top of the stretch, there was a lane and he was clear for a run if he had it within him.  He gave it his best, given the circumstances.

7th- 5- Pink Devil (15/1)- As is normal running style, Pink Devil wanted no part of the early speed, and was more then happy to find a spot at the back of the field to start it off.  As they moved around the opening turn and into the backstretch, the distance would be about eight lengths to make up.  Midway into the turn, J Rosario clearly wanted to make his move with his closer, but all lanes were clogged up, and there was no where to go.  That would continue to be the case, and with the field fanning out about 10-wide, Pink Devil just seemed to tuck in with the pack, and hope for the best result.  He’d pick off a couple spots

8th- 4- Sri Lanka (9/2)- The veteran gelding from Heavens Own had no problems out of the gate, but still seemed destined for a midpack position around the opening turn. However, R Bejarano wanted more out of Sri Lanka early and pushed him a bit around this turn to end up in the third position and less the two lengths from the lead.  Seemed good in the backstretch in comparison to those behind him, and moved up to the second position, but still lost a length to Bombastic Kathology.  When the others who had behind him began to advance, Sri Lanka simply had no answer for them and gradually faded further from the lead.

9th- 1- Buzzing (6/1)- The third Mb Stables entry got off to a rather average start, and would be in the middle of the pack around the opening towards.  Towards the end of this turn, R J Albarado seemed to want him a little closer to the lead, and would settle in on the rail about three lengths out.  His run down the backstretch seemed good initially, but as they moved into the turn he began to back out of it.  Compounding the frustation for Mb Stables, he seemed to cut off Visa Vice, who in turn cut off Stormy Kg, while going around the turn.  He seemed to give it his all in the stretch, it just was not enough in one of our classic jumbo finishes.

10th- 8- Democrat Politician (15/1)- The liberal gelding from Australian Wide fared well in the early polls, assuming a stalking positions of the leaders as they approached the first turn, but lost some of that voter confidence while rounding it.  Maintained a steady campaign over the backstretch, but was not able to cut into his rival’s lead at this time.  When rivals who had been behind him turned up the heat in the stretch debate, Democrat Politician was not able to measure up, and conceded the race.

11th- 10- Antelope Storm (3/1)-    The post time favorite from Grimley was carrying much more weight then the rest of the field, and that may have played a big part in this result. Early on, he did seem in good shape, running right with Bombastic Kathology around the turn and staying with him as they moved into the backstretch.  By the end of the backstretch trip, however, he began to fade out of it, dropping almost four lengths from the eventual winner at the top of the turn and from there it was a steady regression to the back.

Track: Firm
Time: :46¹  1:09¹  1:33²  1:58¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 11 – 7 Paid 92.60
$1 Trifecta: 11 – 7 – 2 Paid 1,685.50

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES