The Jaipur (Grade 1)- $500.000 Purse
BEL- For Three Year Olds and Upward
Six Furlongs on the Turf
June 6, 2020
Gordon Drive was in tough for his return to sprinting, as he was drawn into the outside post for the 17th running of the Grade 1 Jaipur at BEL. On this day, the outside would not be a bad place to start at all at BEL, as we would see in a few races today. The colt has become used to it anyway, as this was his third straight race with a double digit post. After a couple of disappointing races, he needed something to change his fortunes, and that would be a shorter distance in which to run as he went back to sprinting. With two furlongs to go, he still had everyone to pass, but an outstanding stretch performance would see him to victory! The winning trainer is Estero Farms, earning his first win in the race. Mario Gutierrez was aboard for his first win in the stake as well. Congratulations to them! It would be run in a time of 1:08.21, placing it as one of the quicker editions of the race. Let’s take a look!
(1/4 Mile- :22.46)- Out of the gate, Storming, out of Fractious, prevails just slightly over the Aer Stables-trained Bashful as they begin the run down the backstretch. Running within a length of them, and each to their inside are both Supremebeast’s Fusaichi Pegasus and Salili, from Team 7 Illusions. A similar distance behind the leaders, but doing so on the outside, is Neighborhood Hero, out of D J C Racing Stables. It’s about another length to John Henry’s Dominant Force who is forced to utilize the outside lane at this point. Korean Bolt (Smokey Stover) and Eggs And Bacon (Mb Stables) are within two and a half lengths from the and stalking the leaders, while Gallant Man (TwinTowersRacing) is nearby on the rail. Genghis (Arindel), is next and about four lengths behind. At the back of the pack, but still within five lengths of the lead, is our eventual winner from Estero Farms, Gordon Drive. By going to the rear of the field, he was able to have a much better lane for the turn then he might have had otherwise.
(½ Mile- :44.97, Top of stretch, 1.5F To Go)- As the field moves around the turn, both Storming and Bashful are looking very good at the front end and increase their lead over the competition just a little bit. At the top of the stretch, however, they were each in jeopardy as the field lined up behind them. And I mean that literally, because it almost looked like they were just released from the starting gate right behind the two frontrunners as they were seven wide across the track. Gordon Drive did not have to take the outside lane before, but he did not have a choice now since the wall was set up in front of him. He had everyone to pass, but a reasonable three lengths to make up.
(Finish- 1:08.21)- With a furlong to go, we had one of our classic and beloved tight finishes at the wire in the making. Storming was trying to hold on, but both Gordon Drive and Korean Bolt were now clearly the class of the pack and ready to take over the race. Each would be running well to the wire but Gordon Drive simply turned on the afterburners a little more to end up getting the win, and impressively almost by a full length over Korean Bolt by the time they hit the wire. Korean Bolt, the post-time favorite takes second, with Genghis, another late runner getting up for third. Storming will share the fourth place purse with Salili, and behind them it would be Eggs And Bacon, Dominant Force, Neighborhood Hero, Gallant Man, Fusaichi Pegasus, and Bashful.
About The Winner- Gordon Drive, trained by Estero Farms, and ridden to victory by Mario Gutierrez, is a three year old colt by Aggravation, and is out of B T T K C. He was bred in New York as a second quarter two year old by Estero Farms, the only trainer for which he has ever known. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his fourth in 10 starts and his second stake win, each of which are graded. His career earnings are now $467.920.
Track: Firm
Time: :222 :444 :563 1:081
$2 Mutuel Prices:
$1 Exacta: 11 – 2 Paid 56.90
$1 Trifecta: 11 – 2 – 4 Paid 1,696.70
Scratched: None
— NS
Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES
