BC Juvenile (Grade 1)- $2,000.000 Purse
SA- For Colts and Geldings Two Years Old
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
November 1, 2019
The first day of the BC weekend gave us plenty of exciting races involving two year olds to enjoy. The race that capped it off would certainly not lack in its excitement as two horses hit the wire together, making fans wonder who would get the nod in the photo. Or would it be a dead heat. At the top of the stretch, Brittle, trained by Aer Stables seemed to be in very good position to get the win, but Orion Nebula, now a part of John Henry team came on late and made it very interesting. The headbob would go to Brittle, making Aer Stables and jockey S X Bridgmohan each a champion of the BC Juvenile for the first time! Congratulations to them! Brittle was a surprising 28/1 longshot for this race, despite being among our picks, and was commonly picked in the contest being run by Mb Stables as one of the top three as well. Let’s take a look at the race!
(1/4 Mile- :23.48)- Spirited Stride, our pick to win, and the pick of many others in the contest, jumped out to the early lead for trainer Mb Stables. It looked like he might open up very briefly, but would settle in at this point. He would soon be joined at the front end by Stark, who would be the post-time favorite, and running for D J C Racing Stables. Behind these two, they were four wide, with John Henry’s City Sniper having the advantage amongst them as he had position between the frontrunners. The other three were heads apart, and the outside horse of that group would be our eventual winner, Brittle, for Aer Stables, with a great spot in the money lane. Better Party, something Aer Stables may be doing now, was running to his inside for Estero Farms and Sweet Sweat, from Mb Stables, was on the rail. It was another length to Gdp Inc’s High One, who at least at this point, seemed to be in a good spot, too. He had four of them to his outside within a length, and from inside to outside they consisted of Milan (Smokey Stover), Orion Nebula (John Henry), Fancy This (Fractious), and Sail Away (Mb Stables). It was another length to Dragster (D J C Racing Stables), another to Bound Bay (Gdp Inc), and trailing was Intaglio (Arindel).
(½ Mile- :47.19)- Stark and Spirited Stride run alongside one another over the next two furlongs, but they would get some company. Brittle has been in a stalking position on the outside, but that was no longer good enough and made use of his time in the backstretch to make it three wide up at the front. Another horse that moved forward at this juncture of the race was Sail Away, and he would take over the spot that Brittle had been in before, running in the fourth lane amongst the stalkers. The other three stalkers remained Sweet Sweat, City Sniper, and Better Party. Orion Nebula cut into his own deficit and moved forward and would hope to have room to the outside of Better Party. High One may have missed his opportunity to come forward right here. The others were not yet showing much.
(Top Of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- As the field prepared for the run around the final turn, Brittle was urged forward a little more by S X Bridgmohan, and he would respond quite well and in a seemingly effortless fashion. He would use the turn to complete the pass and then open up a lead of about a length and a half by the time that had reached the top of the stretch. Stark packed it in once he was passed, though Spirited Stride was showing more fight, at least in the form of trying to hold off the others. His stablemate, Sweet Sweat, had moved into the third position and was looking to complete the pass to the outside. Meanwhile, Orion Nebula moved up to the fourth position. Because Better Party was lethargic in the turn, Orion Nebula didn’t have to hope for room any longer between he and Sail Away and couple simply move to outside and make his run while being in the money lane. At this point, he was certainly looking like a main threat to Brittle at the front but would he have enough time to make up the three lengths that he needed to? Sail Away was holding his ground, but not pushing forward, and the story was similar for both High One and City Sniper in the turn. Milan and Dragster looked to have a little left in the tank to get around others, but had too much group to make up to become serious threats.
(Finish- 1:41.62)- Brittle has a good advantage in the stretch with a furlong to go, still ahead of Orion Nebula by nearly two lengths. Also looking good was Sweet Sweat and the two of them would try their best to make a bid at the leader, though one would do it much better then the other. As the wire got closer, so to did Orion Nebula, as Brittle tried his best to keep his lead from crumbling apart. They hit the wire together, making the photo be all about who would get the headbob. Prevailing would be Brittle, barely. With that, he becomes a BC champion and the new Beach Dandy as we finish out this season. Orion Nebula did all he could, great job, and John Henry is certainly calling him a keeper. Sweet Sweat got within a length to be third, beating stablemate Spirited Stride who held on enough for the final piece of the purse. City Sniper took a shot at him, but missed his target. Dragster ran well late to be sixth. The final finishing order will read as Milan, High One, Bound Bay, Sail Away, Stark, Intaglio, Fancy This, and Better Party.
About The Winner- Brittle, trained by Aer Stables and ridden to victory by S X Bridgmohan, is a two year old gelding by Brutal, and is out of A Princess. He was bred in New York as a yearling by Aer Stables, and they have been together since the start. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his fourth in six starts, and his third graded win. His career earnings are now $1,481.480.
Track: Fast
Time: :232 :47 1:103 1:413
$2 Mutuel Prices:
$1 Exacta: 8 – 9 Paid 516.00
$1 Trifecta: 8 – 9 – 2 Paid 1,837.70
Scratched: Dangerfield
— NS
Categories: BC 2018-20, Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES, THE BREEDERS CUP
