San Vicente Stakes (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
SA- For Three Year Olds
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
February 6, 2021
The story of the San Vicente would be one of creating a star. At the current time, none of the horses in the field had earned $100.000, but that is not to say that there was not plenty of potential in the field. Maybe, it could finally be a race where I talk about a maiden winning. There were two chances of this, after all, with our field of seven, but it has been years since I last wrote an article about a maiden winning a stake. Sure, I know that it has happened in the meantime. I would not have put money on Counterintelligence. But for him to be here, trainer Mo Mentum Farm had to feel he was about to run a big race. He was running with Lasix for the first time, moving from the grass to the dirt, and cutting his distance just a little bit. All of that proved to get the job done for this colt and now this horse that had never been part of an exacta in four previous races is a graded winner. Congratulations go out to Mo Mentum Farm and jockey G Corrales for their wins! The time of the race was 1:21.98, which is similar to recent editions on a fast track. Let’s look at it!
(¼ Mile- :23.00)- Arindel looked to sweep the three races I cover this weekend as Shining Rubicon jumped out to the early lead, doing so by a length over Head Of The Dead, of Mo Mentum Farm. He was a half length ahead of both Caleb Toothpaste (Night Rider Stables) and Rotarian (Mb Stables), as they ran on each side of him. You would have to go back two lengths to find Greatest Game (Fractious), and right on his outside would be our eventual winner, Counterintelligence, as the Mo Mentum Farm entry was about four lengths from the front. The post time favorite, Sensei (Barcelona Farms), got some groans from the crowd at first call, trailing the field.
(½ Mile- :45.93)- Down the backstretch and into the turn, Arindel was hoping to have a shining moment with Shining Rubicon as that one continued to lead the way, and seemed comfortable in doing so. Head Of The Dead was the Mo Mentum Farm runner that was looking like the biggest threat right now, as he tried to come through on the inside. Caleb Toothpaste and Rotarian each sat just off the lead, not making a move just yet, but remaining in a good position to strike when ready. We still had the gap to the rest of the field, with Greatest Game slightly ahead of Sensei, who slipped past Counterintelligence for the moment.
(Top Of Stretch. 1.5F To Go)- Moving into the stretch, the leader was still Shining Rubicon, but it was no longer looking good for him and several were lining up behind him ready to move on by. Which of these would be the biggest challenger was still unknown, but Caleb Toothpaste looked pretty good as he prepared to make an outside push. Rotarian moved to the rail for a run of his own. Head Of The Dead was still in the picture here, but did not seem as strong now as some of these rivals. Greatest Game still led the trailing pack, but they were starting to close in. Sensei was next, and even as late as this point, Counterintelligence was the trailer.
(Finish- 1:21.98)- If you still don’t think that a closer can win with the new race engine, please watch the San Vicente. Counterintelligence did a great job saving ground, inching closer at the top of the stretch, and now looked to make his run. With a furlong to go, he had moved up to the fifth position, and was about a length and a half from the lead. There was a wide gap for him to shoot through between Shining Rubicon and Caleb Toothpaste as the latter drifted far more outside than he needed to. With some of these early runners tiring, Counterintelligence had it set up well for him, and he made it pay off, running hard to the wire and getting up just in time to beat Caleb Toothpaste and Rotarian, who settled for second and third. Greatest Game is fourth, ahead of Sensei, Head Of The Dead, and Shining Rubicon.
About The Winner- Counterintelligence, trained by Mo Mentum Farm and ridden to victory by G Corrales, is a three year old colt by Idol Knowledge, and is out of Contagion. He was bred in Ontario as a first quarter two year old by his trainer and they have been together throughout! Congratulations to the connections! This was his first career win, and his career earnings are now $138.820.
| ## | Horse Name | Owner Name | Jockey | Odds | Fin | Time | SRF | |||
|
Counterintelligence | Mo Mentum Farm | Corrales G | 55.20 | 1hd | 1:21.98 | — | |||
|
Caleb Toothpaste | Night Rider Stables | Espinoza V | 7.05 | 2hd | 1:22.01 | — | |||
|
Rotarian | Mb Stables | Prat F | 2.50 | 33/4 | 1:22.04 | — | |||
|
Greatest Game | Fractious | Cedillo A | 5.70 | 41/2 | 1:22.22 | — | |||
|
Sensei | Barcelona Farms | Hernandez J J | 1.80 | 5nk | 1:22.35 | — | |||
|
Head Of The Dead | Mo Mentum Farm | Gonzalez Ru | 11.70 | 6 | 1:22.42 | — | |||
|
Shining Rubicon | Arindel | Fuentes Ru | 4.80 | 6 | 1:22.42 | — |
Track: Fast
Time: :23 :454 1:093 1:214
$2 Mutuel Prices:
| 6 – Counterintelligence | 112.40 | 62.00 | 28.90 |
| 5 – Caleb Toothpaste | 11.70 | 3.60 | |
| 2 – Rotarian | 7.60 |
$1 Exacta: 6 – 5 Paid 190.50
$1 Trifecta: 6 – 5 – 2 Paid 1,663.60
Scratched: None
— NS
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES
Why did Counterintelligence earn a 93 and Cossack got an 85 one day later at the same track with the same variant? Of course I realize the distance was not the same, but they were quite similar and I strongly feel had it been 7 furlongs instead of 6.5, his final time would have been faster than the San Vicente. Cossack broke last, ran the two furlongs from the half mile to the six furlong pole in :23 and got the last half furlong in :6. It was a monstrous performance, actually, so I was surprised to see it was only rated 85. How did you arrive at those numbers?