Pharoah Stakes – Grade I [BC]
1 1/16 Mile Dirt Graded Stake Purse $300.00 Two-Year-Olds. At SA

1st      Dixie Bound                 Alydar Stables               9-1 HRP 30-1 SRF

Dixie Bound only had two races coming into this race, and one of them was a win at DMR. Well, I figured a win in a maiden race, no matter how easy, no matter how high the track, was not going to produce a Grade I winner next race, so 30-1… oops! Dixie Bound sauntered out of the gate in eleventh place and stayed there until the far turn where he began a relentless charge toward the front, still eighth at the top of the lane but with an unstoppable head of steam that saw him three quarter lengths in front at the finish line.

2nd      Bold Flames                         Mb Stables               10-1 HRP 6-1 SRF     

Here’s another DMR product, but this time I paid attention and mentioned not to take those DMR races lightly. Bold Flames is another deep closer, but not so deep as the winner, which started eighth and gradually worked his way toward the front, but because he was working gradually, he either didn’t see Dixie Bound coming or wasn’t able to shift dears fast enough when that one came storming by.

3rd      Wartime Woo Dawg                Jive Inc.                      15-1 HRP 20-1 SRF

I thought Wartime Woo Dawg was a true longshot in this race, considering he had just run ninth in an allowance race at 56-1; what would he be in a Grade I stakes? Well, there’s a lot more to consider, like sharp works and a savvy owner who would not hang on to a young lad like this unless he expected a race at least this good. Usually, ‘gave an even performance’ is reserved for a horse that ran fifth or worse, but Wartime Woo Dawg came out of the gate fourth one-length behind, continued fourth one-length behind to the stretch, moved up to third one-length behind at the top of the stretch and continued on to the wire to finish third one-length behind in spite of the shenanigans of the closers. Hard to keep that kind of pace with all that other stuff going on.    

4th      Higher Advantage               Serenity Stables               5-1 HRP 5-1 SRF

Higher Advantage ran a remarkably courageous race, taking the lead coming home after forcing the pace through the early fractions, drew out dramatically as though the race was his, but with all the horse hoof gibber-gabber that took place down the stretch, he wound up fourth only a length behind.

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES