Dead Madness Overcomes Post to Win BC Turf

By Nynl Stables on November 3, 2019

BC Turf (Grade 1)- $4,000.000 Purse
SA- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Half on the Turf
November 2, 2019

Starting from the far outside, there was an extra obstacle for Dead Madness to overcome. Over twelve furlongs, there is plenty of time to make adjustments to a bad post draw, but those would not be needed for Dead Madness either. He had one plan, go out to the front and stay there! After winning both the BEL Derby and the Arlington Million, he would have seemed to have been a smart pick for the race, but I admittedly did look past him due to his starting position. It just has not worked out well for me when I have looked to the outside for my pick. That may have been the mindset for many others as well, as he would go off at odds of 10/1, and was only picked by 5.2% of stables in the pick ‘em. In the biggest turf race of the year, Dead Madness stepped up and got the win; another accolade for the best horse in the game that no one talks about! It is the first win in the stake for both trainer John Henry, and the jockey, M Tunon. The race was won in a time of 2:23.60. Let’s take a look!

(½ Mile- :47.28)- There was a strong push from the outside posts of the starting gate, and initially as the field moved down the beginning portion, it would be Give Your All, from Team 7 Illusions, as the early leader. However, by the time they reached the frontstretch, our eventual winner, John Henry’s Dead Madness, began his push to the front, and would take over the lead at the top of the stretch for the first time. He would bring Call Me Spanish, from Maxmillion Farm with him, and Jamie Mach (RNP Stables) was also at the front, just a length off the lead. A four wide group was behind them, consisting of more horses that started to the outside. This is where Give Your All was now, and right beside him was Sumi Gaeshi, from Maxmillion Farm. To their outside would be Face Your Fears (Mb Stables) and his stablemate, Spiral. Techfluence (The Sidley Stud) was next, three and a half lengths off the lead. Behind him on each side were Winter Solstice (John Henry) and Lets Do It Bog Boy (RNP Stables). The latter of which got into the field after the scratch of Happy Model. The trailers were Early Retirement (Mb Stables), Raj Action Packed (Arindel), First Class Male (Team 7 Illusions), and Video Master (Aer Stables).

(3/4 Mile- 1:11.26)- This is not a portion of twelve furlong race where you would expect to see much movement in the field, and that would be true once again. Dead Madness continued to lead the field, pushing the advantage now to being about two lengths. Jamie Mach and Call Me Spanish would be next, and behind them the field held their ground. Let’s move on in the race.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Moving into the backstretch, and throughout this portion of the race, Dead Madness continued to lead the field in a comfortable manner, showing no signs of fatigue. He would not have any challengers, so would open up by two lengths. A horse that did tire, however, was Give Your All, and gave nothing here and quickly dropped to the back of the field, leaving the rail wide open if someone wanted to take advantage of it. Sumi Gaeshi moved into the second position now, and had to like having nothing to his inside. Jamie Mach was still there as well. A little further back, a few horses, such as Techfluence and Face Your Fears made noteworthy moves to find their lanes for the turn. At the top of the stretch, the lead for Dead Madness was a length and a half, and Sumi Gaeshi was making his intentions known of making his own bid for the win. Jamie Mach still ran okay, but could not push forward in the same manner as did Sumi Gaeshi. Techfluence moved up to join Jamie Mach in a battle for third. Call Me Spanish had dropped off a bit, and had Lets Do It Big Boy making the most of his opportunity to run going by on the inside, and Face Your Fears on the outside. Early Retirement, Winter Solstice, and another that surprisingly took a lot of money (to me) in Spiral, were highly regarded horses not showing much.

(Finish- 2:23.60)- Dead Madness would not give in to anyone in this field, maintaining his stride and coming away with what he made look like an easy win, even though it did take a lot of work for him to do so. Getting to the front early nullified any disadvantage that the outside post could throw at him, and he can now call himself a BC Mile, as the turf becomes the third Grade 1 that he has won this year. Sumi Gaeshi made a valiant effort, and it gets him second position, a length ahead of third place Techfluence. Jamie Mach takes the final piece of the purse, edging stablemate Lets Do It Big Boy for that spot. After these five, there was a gap to the rest of the field, and no one else was a particular threat in the race. The final running order, therefore, is Raj Action Packed, Face Your Fears, Early Retirement, Winter Solstice, Spiral (the post time favorite), Call Me Spanish, Video Master, First Class Male, and Give Your All.

About The Winner- Dead Madness, trained by John Henry, and ridden to victory by M Tunon, is a three year old gelding by Moment Of Madness, and is out of Brawl Dead End. He was bred in New York as a first quarter two year old by Mb Stables and acquired by John Henry, via Tacaro Farm, in September 2018 for just $40.000. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his eighth in 13 starts, and his fourth graded win. His career earnings are now $4,134.900.

Horse Name

Owner Name

Jockey

Odds

Fin

Time

SRF

Dead Madness

John Henry

Tunon M

10.25

1^3/4