WO Mile (Grade 1) (BC)- $800.000 Purse
WO- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on the Turf
September 16, 2017
Getting hot at the right time! It’s something that is very important regardless of the sport that you talking about. Last year, Compress made a name for himself with a good run in the TC hunt, but some were beginning to doubt him over the summer. Trainer Cherrytree Hill Farm brought him here to WO for the WO Mile and he stepped up and picked up the win, which would get momentum going for him again, leading up to a third place run in the BC Mile. To start off 2017, Compress seemed a little off, and soon found himself dropped to open allowances. That may have got him recharged, and he would go to beautiful Saratoga Race Course and pick up a win in the Fourstardave. Once again, Compress was a graded winner. Today, it was back to the WO Mile to see if he could do it again. With R Bejarano aboard, that glory was recaptured. So now, yes, Compress is peaking at the right time! This was a strong field, a big win for this colt. Cherrytree Hill and R Bejarano teamed up last year as well and now each have won the race twice! Congratulations! The time of the win was 1:32.83, which we unfortunately cannot compare to last year since that race was on good turf. Here’s a look at the race!
(1/4 Mile- :22.80)- The race is led early on by Great Destiny and Mwn Racing as the colt breaks nicely out of the gate to lead by nearly a length at the quarter mark. Running close by on the outside was Daddyboughtme, from Big Guns Stables, using his outside post well. Compress was comfortably tucked in on the rail for Cherrytree Hill Farm, in nearly the same spot that we just saw Techfluence win from in the prior race here. Kenny Wisconsin broke well for Aer Stables as well, but would not be quite as fast as the top three down the backstretch. He was sandwiched between eventual runnerup Antelope Storm (Scarletandgraystable) and the legendary Seven Years (Alydar Stables). Hold The Mach led the trailing half of the field for Night Rider Stables, with Sir Tom (Brave), One Direction (Estero Farms), Level Charge (Wolfs Den), Lunar Blaze (John Henry), Tin Lizzie (Stald Gullis) and Desolation Island (Mb Stables) rounding out the order.
(½ Mile)- The second quarter of the race sees several horses near the back looking to see where they might be able to take a run, but very little of them actually make such a run. Great Destiny shows the way still, with Daddyboughtme still less then a length back, though not really applying any pressure to the leader. Compress trails by a bit over two lengths at the top turn, still maintaining a consistent stride while along the rail. To his outside a couple lanes over, Kenny Wisconsin is running a pretty similar race. Antelope Storm and Seven Years maintain their ground, while Sir Tom starts to look to pull behind Compress a little closer. The rest of the field sees some lane movement, but little action otherwise.
(Top Of Stretch- 2F To Go)- The two front runners start to get reeled in by the entire field. The best opportunity here to pass these two belongs to Compress who can remain on the rail for the entire turn and not have to worry about Great Destiny running out of gas. On exit of the turn, he makes up considerable ground, and is now within the length. The others that he had been running with, especially Kenny Wisconsin do not have the same clearance in front of them due to the frontrunners tiring. Antelope Storm has some room to split them, though, and Seven Years can take them wide. Hold The Mach is looking to make a wide move, as Sir Tom stays on the rail while Level Charge squeezing in to his outside. Lunar Blaze is in the middle of all of it, with One Direction and Desolation Island needing to get going soon. Tin Lizzie is struggling at the back.
(Finish- 1:32.83)- A thrilling stretch run develops! In its first half, Compress continues to look sharp, and takes over the lead with more then a furlong to go. He’s looking good, but hold on, because here comes Antelope Storm, who was able to split the traffic. Antelope Storm actually takes the lead at one point, but Compress does not give in and reclaims the lead, but wait, here comes a hard charging Lunar Blaze! Hold The Mach and whoa, One Direction flying on the outside. It’s a thriller, but Compress holds them off to win the WO Mile for the second year in a row, becoming the first ever horse to accomplish such a feat. Antelope Storm runs a strong second, while Lunar Blaze, in what has been the story of his season, runs well and is close, but finishes third in a three way photo, prevailing over Hold The Mach and One Direction. Level Charge, with a couple more strides, could have gotten third himself, but settles for sixth. Desolation Island ran well late, but conceded too much ground. Sir Tom is the best of the rest in 8th, with Seven Years, Daddyboughtme, and Kenny Wisconsin nearby. Great Destiny could not keep up, and Tin Lizzie was a disappointment.
About The Winner: Compress, trained by Cherrytree Hill Farm and ridden by R Bejarano, is a four year old colt by Crush and out Catahoula Rose. He was bred in Florida by Cherrytree Hill Farm as a second quarter two year old, and they have been together throughout! Congratulations to the connections! The win is his ninth in 21 career starts, and is his 6th graded victory, and his 4th Grade 1 win. His career earnings now sit at $2,785.510.
Track: Firm
Time: :224 :453 1:09 1:324
$2 Mutuel Prices:
$1 Exacta: 1 – 7 Paid 28.80
$1 Trifecta: 1 – 7 – 3 Paid 512.10
Scratched: Corn On Macabre, Serious Cobra(L)
— NS
Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES
