Iroquois (Grade 3)- $100.000 Purse [BC]
CD- For Two Year Olds
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
September 12, 2015

With a berth in the BC Juvenile on the line, The Iroquois was a star studded field of two year olds who have already been successful in their young careers at the highest of levels.  Many previously had very close calls in Graded Stakes, and today’s winner, Custer Of The West, was no exception.   Last month, he had been second in the SAR Special to a horse named Black Mach One, who is possibly the best two year old in the game at this premature juncture.   Surprisingly, despite us making him our second choice, Custer Of The West ended up being a pretty profitable play at the betting window as well, going off at odds of 8/1.  The odds were quite balanced with the exception of the people making Coup De Lyon the main favorite.  If the winning trainer, Sanny Village, and winning jockey, S X Bridgmohan, sounded familiar, it should.  The pair teamed up for their second straight Iroquois win.   Now, to hope Custer of The West will become more divine, then broke.    That said, here’s how the west was won.

1st- 7- Custer of The West (8/1)- The eventual race winner got off to an average start, but jockey S X Bridgmohan seemed to make a quick adjustment and had Custer of The West into third position by the time they hit the top of the backstretch.  Held his ground for most of the backstretch run, but as they approached the turn, he began to get closer and closer to the leader.  During the turn, he would eventually reel in Bottoms Out.  With 1.5 furlongs to go, Custer Of The West would complete the pass, but Bottoms Out and Carneyman weren’t necessarily ready to concede the win.  In the closing strides it looked like Bottoms Out might re-catch him, but Custer Of The West was also able to dig down deep and find the energy needed to get the win against his former Blushing Meadows stablemate.  The time of the race was 1:42.34, the second quickest Iroquois when run at this distance.   Custer of the West is a two year old gelding by Rene and out of Jessie Girl.  He was bred in New York as a yearling by Blushing Meadows, who sold him in a private sale for $315.000 on the 4th of July to Sanny Village.  Congratulations to all of the connections!

2nd- 8- Bottoms Out (7/1)- The Blushing Meadows entry was the fastest of them all out of the gate, and would lead the field around the opening turn while setting the opening quarter in :23.33.  He continued to run well in the backstretch and almost looked as though he wanted to extend the lead a little, setting the ½ in :46.74.   He would continue to lead the field throughout the turn, but was caught by Custer of the West in the turn.  Bottoms Out did his best to make him earn the pass, however.  In the last half furlong Bottoms Out appeared resurgent and made a bid to get the lead back, but would not be able too.  Of course, the trainer might be wishing if he had to finish second, if it could have been to anyone else.

3rd- 11- Carneyman (7/1)- Got off to a quick start for trainer Broken Spoke Stables, allowing him to move over into an inside lane for the opening turn.  He had a steady run down the backstretch, but didn’t up too much of a fight to hold his ground then Custer Of The West went by.  He would hang on to his position though, and always seem to be able to be about a length behind Bottoms Out while to his outside.  He would hang tough, and finish third.

4th- 10- Coup de Lyon (3/1)- The choice of the betting public got off to an average start for his trainer, Nakamura Stables.  P Ouzts looked as though he wanted to follow Custer Of The West around the turn, but he ran into a little more traffic then he would have liked.  The length and a half that he lost to the Custer Of The West at this point proved to be vital in keeping him from winning the race.   He was particularly good in the very late moments of the race.

5th- 5- Dogs Got Wings (5/1)- Average start for the Downwind Stables entry, content to be about three lengths off the leaders in the early stages.   Things continued like this for him for the run down the backstretch, and into the turn.   Did not make a much of a move when Coup de Lyon looked to pass in the turn.  He would hold his ground pretty well in the stretch, and gets a bittersweet strong fifth place performance for his trainer.

6th- 9- Stolen Thunder (10/1)- The Riggins Racing entry got off to a slow start, and this is a little out of character for him as he had run on the lead in his two prior races.  Looked good in the turn, and at the top of the stretch, H J Theriot III looked to make his closing bid.  Came charging hard down from the outside, but let’s face it, this run started way too late. He will need to start this run earlier next time or stay closer to the leaders.

7th- 6- Techfluence (12/1)-   Was surprised to see that our pre-race selection went off at such long odds, though in the end he didn’t prove the people wrong.   He didn’t show much early, starting way off the pace early.  Stayed a similar gap to the leaders throughout the turn, and then when it came time to run in the stretch, Techfluence took a while to get going.  Once he did, he was in great stride, but it was too little too late, and I don’t believe traffic was an excuse.

8th- 4- Highest Esteem (8/1)- Got off to a midpack start for trainer Mb Stables.  Maintained his midpack position throughout the backstretch, and into the turn.  At the top of the stretch, Highest Esteem was able to hang with the lead pack for a little while, but never made a bid to win the race.

9th- 2- Doomsday Machine (32/1)- Began the race towards the back of the pack, as the middle horse of three wide about five lengths from the lead in the early going for Pocket Aces Racing.  Maintained a steady stride throughout the backstretch, and into the turn, but in the stretch, he would pack it in.

10th- 3- Creepy Englishman (27/1)- Hopeful for a better start then he might have had on Labor Day, the D J C Racing entry started towards the rear of the field.  This is where he would be for the entirety of the race as it was quite uneventful for him, and certainly disappointing for his trainer who may have had some real high hopes.

11th- 12- Baysom (30/1)- The Mshot Stables entry got off to a poor start, heading directly for the back of the pack and finding himself almost off the viewer in the early going.  There was never any kind of move made for him, and all he’s able to do is beat one who seemed well over his head.

12th- 1- Commanding Attention (26/1)- It wasn’t a lost cause directly from the beginning, as Commanding Attention was at least running with the pack for the run down the backstretch.  In the turn, he seemed to pack it in, and on this day Commanding Attention could only command attention for how far out of it he fell.

Track: Fast
Time: :23¹  :46³  1:10²  1:42¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 7 – 8 Paid 67.70
$1 Trifecta: 7 – 8 – 11 Paid 1,321.00

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III