San Vicente Stakes (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
SA- For Three Year Olds
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
February 12, 2017

The 14th running of the San Vicente was simply thrilling as the top four horses in the field were within a half length of one another.  It was a combination of those coming from off the pace, stalkers, and a gritty frontrunner who has a ton of heart digging in the best he could until the end. There would very little separation between them, but the winner in a very tight photo would be Flightwing Commander, a Caught Red Hoofed colt who you knew would do some great things in his career, but it just had not really happened yet. It was surprising to see this one go off as the longest shot on the board at 10/1, especially when another was 50/1 in the morning line, but in our virtual world there can be a lot of fluctuation there.  To get the win, Flightwing Commander did cut his distance back, so it will be interesting to see where he heads next, if trainer Yahudi Stables will continue to pursue prep races, or if he has found a home at this distance for now.  As for Yahudi, the longtime trainer wins his second San Vicente, but you have to go all the way back to 2006 and Gunga Din for that other win.  Jockey V Espinoza records his first win in this stake.  Congratulations to the winners! The time of the race was 1:21.76, the third quickest in stake history.  Let’s look more at this result now!

1st- 5- Flightwing Commander (10/1)- Our eventual race winner from Yahudi Stables would start the race near the rear of the field, emerging fifth of six in the early moments.  At a quarter mile, he would have four lengths to make up, but V Espinoza did position him on the track so he would have a nice clear lane for when he decided to move.  Remained steady in the backstretch, but as they moved into the turn, he looked to advance, and wisely prevented Had No Idea from cutting him off.   He was coming on strong as they reached the exit of the turn, but still had three horses to catch and two lengths to make up as the stretch run commenced.   Because none of the rivals ahead of him were giving in, it was not a power move to take over the lead, and more of a graceful and gradual progression to the front.   It would take quite a bit of effort and desire but Flightwing Commander would get the job done and pick up the big and long awaited graded stake win.  This is a horse with blazing fast workouts so you know the future is bright!  Today, the victory went in a time of 1:21.76.  Flightwing Commander is a three year old by Caught Red Hoofed and out of Newmarket Fox (Take A Million).  He was bred in Ontario by Deja Vu Farm and sold cheaply in private sales for just $10.000 in June.  Congratulations to the connections!

2nd- 1- Sonar (7/2)- The Mb Stables entry broke well from the gate, but would not quite be interested in challenging Slither for the lead.  Instead, M E Smith kept him about a length and a half from the lead, running on the rail to the inside of Sorry Sister.  Over the backstretch portion of the race, he was fine with just cruising along and maintaining the pace.   He may have been boxed in a little bit as well here since Slither was in on the rail and Sorry Sister was still to his outside.  On the exit of the turn, the frontrunner slithered down a lane and the jockey used his sonar senses to take advantage of the hole that had opened up.  Because everyone was running well at this point, it looked like Sonar might run out of time, but I thought that he was especially good in the final half furlong.  He found an additional gear to poke a nose in front of Slither and narrowly miss the win by the slightest of margains.

3rd- 6- Slither (6/1)- Not surprisingly, the Nynl Stables entry broke alertly out of the gate and would jump out to a lead of about a length and a half while going down the backstretch.  He would set the opening fraction in a time of :23.02, which was about what I was hoping for him to do at that point.  He continued this pace down the backstretch, with the same lead over the stalkers, as a half mile went in :46.98.   At the top of the stretch, Slither had his rivals coming at him, and in writing so many of these recaps now I can tell you that I have seen many pacesetters just get swallowed up at this point.  Slither dug in as I have seen from him many times before.  Flightwing Commander was not going to be denied, and Sonar also gave it his all.  The writer still looks for that first Grade 2 win, but will bring Slither back to his stall being proud of his run. We’ll try again!

4th- 2- Sorry Sister (6/5)- The post time favorite from Sccj Stables broke well out of the gate, and would assume a stalking position behind the pacesetting Slither while running alongside Sonar in the backstretch.  Matched strides with that one down the backstretch with neither putting pressure on the leader at that point.  Appeared to have a little more ambition in the turn to put a run on Slither.   Looked to make the move to the outside and gained ever so slightly on him, but at the same time Flightwing Commander was going by on the outside, and Sonar was hitting his stride on the rail.  In the end, plenty for Sccj Stables to like in the effort of Sorry Sister, but I know it can be tough to be the fourth place horse in a four way photo for the win.

5th- 3- Had No Idea (5/1)- The second entry from Mb Stables got off to a decent start overall, and would be in the middle of the field down the backstretch.  Had some thoughts about making it three wide in the turn to get by Sonar and Sorry Sister, but Flightwing Commander had already claimed that lane.  Finally found some room late in the stretch and got closer to the leaders, but none of the top four were giving in.

6th- 4- Skeleton Crew (7/1)- It was not a good start for the Big Guns Stables entry, as he quickly found himself at the rear of this competitive field.  Trailed by six going around the turn to the leader, with three lengths to the next closest competitor.  Could only gain a length in the stretch in what proved to be a disappointing effort.

Track: Fast
Time: :23   :45⁴  1:09²  1:21³

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 5 – 1 Paid 19.80
$1 Trifecta: 5 – 1 – 6 Paid 58.30

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES