Prather Stakes ($100.000 Purse)
ZIA- For Two Year Olds Foaled in NM
One Mile and Seventy Yards on the Dirt
December 13, 2021

For his last two races, Hand Cannon saw some of the best competition out there, running in the Grade 1 Hopeful and the Grade 2 Pilgrim. Neither of those races went well for the gelding, so the lower profile Prather Stakes seemed like a great spot for him to fall back into and get a strong result. He had only one once in his five starts up to this point, but produced a great work at the end of November and that would make him the post time favorite. He would not disappoint his supporters, narrowly earning a victory over our pick to win, 13/1 longshot Cowboys Are King. The winner is saddled by Jive Inc, and it is both his and jockey R Chirinos’ first win in the stake. Congratulations to them! The time of the race was 1:39.84, the quickest of the five editions of the race held at this distance. Let’s take a look!

(¼ Mile- :23.60)- Gold Rush, running for Maxmillion Farm, would be the quickest out of the gate and would lead by a little more than a length going into the opening turn. Behind him, he has two stalkers, with Jive Inc.’s Fire Marshall Bill holding down the second position while running in the third lane. He has a friend right beside him, as his stablemate and the eventual winner, Hand Cannon, is to his inside. Nearby, on the rail, John Henry’s Rainman is in the mix as well. It’s one more length to T Boy Racing’s Peep Show, and another to his stablemate, Cowboys Are King.

(½ Mile- :47.21)- As we move down the backstretch, FIre Marshall Bill starts turning up the heat on Gold Rush, and pulls up alongside him, to his outside. These two have about a two length lead on the third place Hand Cannon, who is now running all by himself in that spot. Rainman, who had been running to his inside, has begun to drop out of it, and has fallen to the fifth spot. Peep Show advanced to fourth as a product of that one dropping back while Cowboys Are King was still at the rear of the field, and six lengths from the lead.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- At the top of the final turn, R Chirinos prompted Hand Cannon to begin to make his move, and his horse had no problem obliging. With a strong move off the rail, Hand Cannon moved three wide and prepared to make his push. Both FIre Marshall Bill and Gold Rush were still running side by side, but Hand Cannon quickly reeled them in, and by the time they reached the top of the stretch, he had completed the pass, poking a head in front of the two early leaders. Gold Rush was still hanging in there, but Fire Marshall Bill was having a little more trouble doing so. He was third, but about to be passed by Peep Show. Further back, Cowboys Are King finally decided to get moving in the turn, and was looking in good shape, cutting his deficit to three lengths. Would he have enough time to catch another horse that was still running well?

(Finish- 1:39.84)- In the stretch, Hand Cannon continued to run well, putting Gold Rush away, but now had to worry about the two closers from T Boy Racing, mainly Cowboys Are King. Hand Cannon would have just enough, and the wire would come up just in time to secure his second career win. Cowboys Are King settles for second over stablemate Peep Show with fourth place spoils going to Gold Rush. FIre Marshall Bill fizzled to fifth, while Rainman was a non factor at the back.

About The Winner- Hand Cannon, trained by Jive Inc., and ridden to victory by R Chirinos, is a two year old gelding by Indistinguishable, and is out of Creative Pirate. He was bred in New Mexico as a yearling by Jive Inc., who he has been with throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his second in six starts, and his first in a stake. His career earnings are now $97.210.

Track: Fast
Time: :23³  :47¹  1:11   1:39⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 4 – 3 Paid 37.80
$1 Trifecta: 4 – 3 – 1 Paid 262.00

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded