The Gotham- Grade 3 (KYD)- $400.000 Purse
AQU- One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Inner Dirt
For Three Year Olds
March 5, 2016

Downwind Stables let everyone know how he was going to get Missing In Action into the winner’s circle for the Gotham.  On the forums, he declared that the would send his colt out to the lead, and a brisk pace would be set.  He proved to be a man of his word, and while the pace in the Gotham wasn’t necessarily blistering, Missing In Action would lead from start to finish to earn his way into the KYD, prevailing at the end as a couple rivals made their late bids.   It is the second win in three year for the trainer in this stake, having won the 2014 edition with K T.  This also makes him the only trainer to win the race more then once.  Jockey J R Leparoux won the race for the first time.  Despite the quicker fractions, the ending race time of 1:41.49 was a tick or two slower then last year’s stake record set by Lukas Duke.    It was an interesting race, so let’s take a deeper look at how it went down.

1st- 11- Missing In Action (7/1)- Anyone who may have thought that trainer Downwind Stables was bluffing in his declaration that Missing In Action would be sent off to the lead in an aggressive manner was quickly proven wrong.  Missing In Action started very well out of the gate and was able to move all the way to the rail soon after they entered the opening turn, setting the opening quarter in :23.33.  As they moved in the backstretch, he had the field cleared by about two lengths with the opening half mile fraction set in :46.84.  Doing a quick look over the pace set in previous Gothams, this was by far the fastest four furlong time that any edition of this run had run previously, by about 3/5 of a second.  Missing In Action would open up further in the backstretch, but as they moved around the turn, setting the 3/4 fraction in 1:10.43, Engine Failure was pulling up alongside him, but that would be the best he could too.  Perhaps, Engine Failure too was showing signs of the quick pace.   Neither one could pull away from the other, and late during the stretch, a hard charging Snowmizer was flying and nearly caught both of them.  In the end, there were five of them that were within a length of each other, but no one would be able to pass Missing In Action on this day as he picks up the win!  Congratulations on this victory!  Missing In Action is a three year old colt by Creative Officer and out of Lotta Letters.  He was bred in WV by Team 7 Illusions as a first quarter two year old, and was purchased by Downwind Stables, via Rouge River Stables, for $112.000 after just one race.

2nd- 4- Snowmizer (8/1)- Initially, the Sarah Stables entry got off to a decent start, but then seemed to decide over the course of the opening turn that he would rather be near the back of the field.  At the top of the backstretch therefore, he would be eighth and six lengths off the lead.  He lost more ground in the back of the stretch and at one point was only ahead of Ar Over Indi.  In the final turn, he rediscovered his good stride, and was back up to the sixth.  After all this went down, he was still about four lengths from the lead.  With a furlong to go, it did not seem as though he would have a chance to nearly steal the race win away, as he was still three from the leaders.  Here is where Snowmizer showcased his greatest abilities, making the move to the outside of Missing In Action in a frantic late bid. There was no one better in the stretch, except perhaps for Le Quartier.   He split the leaders and was ready to make the pass.  Unfortunately for the trainer, the wire came up too soon.

3rd- 5- Engine Failure (9/5)- The Mb Stables entry got off to a pretty good start, sitting just off the quick pace being set by Missing In Action early.  He would remain in the shadows of Missing In Action but did not put too much heat on him initially.  As Shareef Dancer bowed out, Engine Failure ran well in the backstretch and pulled to within a length of the lead, and was ready to make his move.  By the top of the stretch, he had pulled even with Missing In Action and seemed inevitable that he was going to go on by.  The stretch run saw the two of them running side by side in a fantastic duel, but neither could pull away from the other, and this set the stage for Snowmizer to come on strong and nearly snag a win away from both of them.  Engine Failure ends up with a strong third place run.

4th- 9- Le Quartier (8/1)- Started towards the back, and alongside Symboli Rudolf at the start of the race for his trainer, Gdp Inc.  He would remain in this position for the backstretch, and was still seven lengths off the lead as they moved around the turn. He made up some ground over the turn, but he was at his best during the stretch.  Le Quartier was able to take advantage of the clear lane that The Rook had vacated and made a valiant drive to the wire.  At this point, he wasn’t going to catch the leaders (though he got closer to them then it seemed like he could), and it was all about picking up a check and some points for this trainer.  This proved worthwhile, as he ends up 4th.  How he finished here is also something to consider as these races start getting longer.

5th- 6- The Rook (27/1)- Got off to an average start for his trainer, D J C Racing Stables, sitting seventh and about five lengths off the lead as they made their way around the opening turn.  Maintained his position for most of the backstretch run, but looked to advance as they moved around the run.  Thanks to being to the outside of Phooeys Ideal, he was able to have a clear lane in front of him as Shareef Dancer began to call it a day.  On exit of the turn, P Lopez looked to make a powerful wide move and with a furlong to go, The Rook was up to third and within two lengths of the leaders.  Unfortunately for the trainer, there were a couple coming on strong from behind him, and he would be unable to hold either off.

6th- 1- Double Jolly King (30/1)- The Sanny Village entry started well along the rail, staying within two lengths of the frontrunner.  As Missing In Action kept pouring it on over the course of the backstretch, Double Jolly King began to back off the leader, but still kept a clean and steady stride going along the rail for the run around the turn.  In the stretch, he began to lose contact with the leaders, and seemed to be trying to cling on to a position where he could earn some KYD points.  He would be unable to do so.

7th- 2- Phooeys Ideal (19/1)- In his first race for Nynl Stables, Phooeys Ideal got off to an average start, sitting about five lengths off the lead between Snowmizer and The Rook.  He looked to advance in the stretch, and may have been slightly impeded by the backing out of Shareef Dancer as they approached the final turn as he lost about a length to The Rook during this portion.  He handled the turn well, and while he was ok in the stretch, it also seemed as though he needed to show a little more spark there as well.

8th- 12- Ar Over Indi (26/1)- Started poorly out of the gate for A And I Stables, and found himself at the back and nine lengths out before they even hit the opening turn.  Remained at the back and did not make up much ground during the backstretch or for the duration of the turn.  Late in the stretch, he found some room to run and made an advance to pick off a few positions.

9th- 7- Symboli Rudolf (9/1)- In his first race off a geld, the Nakamura Stables entry didn’t seem to be himself early.  He is usually closer to the front, but here would be towards the pack.     There was no move coming as they entered the backstretch, and even around the final turn.  At the top of the stretch Symboli Rudolf was still 12th, and six lengths off the lead.  With about a furlong to go, he may have found a hole but the field was long gone.

10th- 10- Yummy Opus (9/2)- The Drabfantasy entry looked to duplicate his last race by having a deep closing run.  He was no where near the leaders early.  He maintained his position towards the back of the pack for much of the race, and looked to make a sweeping move on the final turn and into the top of the stretch that forced him well wide.  He could not make this move stick.

11th- 13- Great Monsoon Spirit (17/1)- From the far outside, the second Sanny Village entry was midpack early.  He was able to get over to a reasonable lane in time for the first turn, so the post can’t really be used as much of an excuse.  During the backstretch run, he would lose a little bit of ground, a trend that would continue all the way until the wire.

12th- 8- Shareef Dancer (395/1)- With only one career race, a win, coming into this, not many believed in the Blushing Meadows entry at the betting windows, and they would prove to be correct.  However, Shareef Dancer had a short-lived strong start being up there with Missing In Action.  About midway into the backstretch, his gradual descent to the last place finish began. He was never really, awful, this level of competition was simply well over his head.  At least, for now.

Track: Fast
Time: :23¹  :46⁴  1:10²  1:41²

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 11 – 4 Paid 109.70
$1 Trifecta: 11 – 4 – 5 Paid 112.50

Scratched: Capt Louis Renault, Folk Fire, Hes A Creeper, Speeding Steel

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES