The 18th Running of The Sanford G3

July 17, 2021 15:20

SAR Race #8 $150.000 6 Furlongs Dirt

2YOs  118 Lbs (+penalties) 

Track Record-1:07.92 (Magni-2004)

Stakes Record-1:09.19 (Symboli Rudolf-2015)

Jockey D. Centeno kept his wits when all around him lost theirs and that may have proven the difference in the $150.000 G3 Sanford.  Centeno’s mount, Disciplinary, utilized an incredible turn of foot to run down Mb Stable‘s Statuesque and drew away to put a little more than a length on that rival by the time they hit the wire.  For a time though, it appeared that outcome was not to be expected.

When the gates popped, it was Bronze Slayer that went to the front from the 12-hole with a pack of four horses, including the eventual winner and runner-up, in the second-flight.  After a quarter in the mud that went in :23.45, Bronze Slayer started getting pressure from Stauesque to his inside and Luck Of The Draw on his outside.  A length behind them, Knockout looked to join the fray as he sat just outside of Disciplinary and appeared to be the more eager of the two to get on with it.

By the midpoint on the turn, Statuesque had taken advantage of the opening on the rail and looked to distance himself from Luck Of The Draw who had also displaced Bronze Slayer.  Knockout was also beginning to move by that runner as he had a lane in between the second- and third-place runners; meanwhile, Disciplinary was caught behind the fading one-time leader.  Junkyard Dog was moving to Centeno’s inside while Paco was moving to his outside and it appeared that Disciplinary was going to be a victim of the traffic jam that was just getting started all around him.

With 1/4 of a mile to go, Statuesque looked to be home free as he had a two-length lead over the always wide Luck Of The Draw and Mb Stable‘s other entrant Knockout.  Then, there was an opening for Disciplinary just to the inside of Bronze Slayer and Centeno’s patience paid off as his mount exploded.  Gobbling-up the SAR stretch, Disciplinary did not have a hair in his path as he dispatched his rivals and set his sights on Statuesque. 

By the time they hit the 1/8 pole, the only question was a matter of how big the gap would be to the second-place finisher.  Disciplinary overtook Statuesque and cruised under the wire in a time of 1:11.61 for the six furlongs in the mud.  After the race, winning trainer Tiratzo gave all of the credit to his horse.  “I have been excited about this colt from day one. As we all know the good one can be few and far between. Disciplinary is not only showing the good speed, but has the pedigree and conformation to go with it. I just have to wait and see if he can handle the longer distances.”  Speaking on a philosophy change for his barn, the winning conditioner added, “I changed up my breeding program this year and going more for quality breeding but breeding far fewer. Going outside of my stable and breeding to some of the best sires in the game and trying to bring in a few top mare. Hopefully this is a sign of better days to come lol.”  Safe to say, the early results are promising.

With the win, Disciplinary improves his record to 3-2-1 for career earnings of $141.200 and receives four valuable points towards BC Juvenile qualification.  Statuesque took home two points while Junkyard Dog got up for third to take home one point.  Congratulations to Tiratzo and Disciplinary, the winners of the 2021 $150.000 G3 Sanford from SAR.

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES