Best Pal Stakes (Grade 3)- $200.000 Purse
DMR- For Two Year Olds
Six Furlongs on the Dirt
August 13, 2023
The Grade 3 Best Pal Stakes took place at DMR on Sunday, and like many other two-year-old races, it figured to be unpredictable. Horses are still young and unproven, and you never know when someone will bust out with a big race at any time. Here, it would be one of the longer shots on the board getting the win, as 10/1 Fayette County pulled off the win. He was not a longshot because of his past performances, as he had been a perfect 2-for-2 coming into the race. Neither of those were for a large purse, and the combination of that and running on two weeks rest had bettors look elsewhere. That did not matter for this Cucamonga colt, as Fayette County used a similar running style that he did at LAD to score the victory. He is trained by Dmc Racing, and it is the trainer’s first win in the Best Pal Stakes. Jockey J Bravo also scores his first win. Congratulations to them! The time of the victory was 1:09.24, and that’s the fastest of the six editions of the race run at this distance. Let’s take a look at it now!
(1/4 Mile- :22.42)- The field makes their way down the backstretch with the La Canada Racehorses-owned Max Party prevailing in a battle for the early top spot with Mb Stables- trained Test The Waters. These two lead the rest of the field by about a length and a half. In the third spot is Rock Creek’s El Gran Blue Jay, who is the on the outside of a trio of horses. Abyss is beside him for Fractious and on the rail is where we find our eventual winner from Dmc Racing, Fayette County. Close by to these horses are both Chief Style Warrior (Williams9) and Gold Vault (Fractious). Ribeye (Waldo) is next, with Big Bang Boom (Rock Creek) on the outside and Alpha Inside (Barcelona Farms) appropriately on the inside. Trailing are Holiday In Cambodia (Riggins Racing) and Neon Anoush (Big Guns Stables).
(1/2 Mile- :45.50, Top of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Running around the turn and entering the stretch Max Party looks very good out front, but it’s not time to celebrate yet. Test The Waters was still a length to his inside, and just off the lead, Fayette County was looking like he had a run coming. He had left behind both El Gran Blue Jay and Abyss, who he had been running with before. Further back, we saw a lot of side-to-side movement among different horses as jockeys looked for lanes but none of them actually resulted in a larger push. Perhaps, that would change in the stretch.
(Finish- 1:09.24)- Fayette County gets closer to Max Party in the stretch, but this was not going to be an easy pass. As we approached the wire, he would finally pull even and from there drew away by nearly a length. Max Party is a game second with nothing to be ashamed of, and it would be a length and a half back to the third place Holiday In Cambodia, who came from well off the pass. Alpha Inside takes fourth, and the rest of the order will read El Gran Blue Jay, Big Bang Boom, Test The Waters, Chief Style Warrior, Gold Vault, Abyss, Ribeye, and Neon Anoush.
About The Winner- Fayette County, trained by Dmc Racing, and ridden to victory by J Bravo, is a two-year-old colt by Cucamonga and is out of Hazy Daisy. He was bred in Kentucky as a first quarter two-year-old by his trainer, and they have been together throughout! Congratulations to the connections! He is now a perfect 3-for-3 in his career, with this being his first stake win. His career earnings are now $134.400.
Track: Fast
Time: :222 :452 :571 1:091
$2 Mutuel Prices:
$1 Exacta: 1 – 10 Paid 136.80
$1 Trifecta: 1 – 10 – 9 Paid 1,319.20
Scratched: Hereslookinatya
— NS
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES
