HOL Turf Cup (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
DMR- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Half on the Turf
November 27, 2020
After two very disappointing finishes, former BC Turf Champion Dead Madness was needing to get back to his old form. It is not something that seemed far off, as three starts back he did win the Arlington Million. Not only did he win the HOL Turf Cup, he dominated the race. Speaking of dominating the race, Mario Gutierrez has been doing that, as he has now ridden the winner in four consecutive years. This time, it was in the silks of John Henry, just like he did in 2019 with Winter Solstice. Congratulations to the winners! The race went in a time of 2:24.84, the quickest of the seven races run at DMR. Let’s take a look!
(½ Mile- :49.44)- Money Truck breaks sharply out of the starting gate for Spankys Barn, and he has Stallsome, looking to complete the weekly trifecta for Maxmillion Farm in the races I cover, running right behind behind him. However, towards the end of the backstretch, Annihilator is very eager to get to the front, and the Eastern Equine entry does so quite quickly. As that was going on, our eventual winner from John Henry, Dead Madness, also got off to a smooth start, and rode the rail around the opening turn. As Money Truck and Stallsome were restrained a bit, Dead Madness takes over the second spot after a half a mile. Behind these four, in the middle of the field, Steel Forestry (Luz International), Fuji (Smokey Stover), and Just Chillin (Nakamura Stables) are three wide, with a half length on Flushed (Diablo Diablo). Further back, it’s Big Bang Raj (Rock Creek), and then Quest For Fame (Rheingold Stable).
(¾ Mile- 1:13.54)- For the most part, there is not much change in how the field runs over this portion of the race in a twelve furlong event. It is still Annihilator out front, leading Dead Madness by a length and a half. The main change happens further back, as Just Chillin starts to lose touch with those he had been running with, and drops back. Let’s move on.
(Top of stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Dead Madness would begin to make his move on Annihilator for the race lead, and he completes this pass very easily before even reaching the top of the turn. Bear in mind, this was the eventual pass for the race win on the second place horse. Stallsome was pushing a little closer here. We also saw Fuji fan out to make a five wide move just prior to the turn. Rounding the turn, Dead Madness was looking like the horse from the Arlington Million, taking command of the race, and opening up a length and a half cushion on Annihilator. That one seemed to be falling into the clutches to Stallsome, but it still had not happened yet. A wide trip by Fuji saw him gain some ground, but he still had a little under three lengths to make up. Flushed and Money Truck were holding their position, but not making an advance, and you can forget everyone else at this point.
(Finish- 2:24.84)- There would be no stopping Dead Madness today, as all we had left to do was watch him run to the wire. He was still in a full stride, and there was no one gaining him, as he wins by almost two lengths. Stallsome never did pass Annihilator, so give Annihilator place and Stallsome show. Fuji runs fourth. The final, solidly beaten, running order is as follows: Flushed, Money Truck, Big Bang Raj, Quest For Fame, Just Chillin, and Steel Forestry.
About The Winner- Dead Madness, trained by John Henry, and ridden to victory by Mario Gutierrez, is a four year old gelding by Moment Of Madness, and is out of Brawl Dead End. He was bred in New York by Mb Stables as a first quarter two year old, and acquired by John Henry via Tacaro Farm in a September 2018 private sale for $40.000. Money well spent! The win is his 10th in 22 starts, his seventh stake win, and six graded win. His career earnings are now $5,246.900.
Track: Firm
Time: :492 1:132 2:01 2:244
$2 Mutuel Prices:
$1 Exacta: 1 – 8 Paid 34.20
$1 Trifecta: 1 – 8 – 3 Paid 146.90
Scratched: None
— NS
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES
