Tropical Turf Handicap (Grade 3)- $100.000 Purse
GP- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on the Inner Turf
January 12, 2019

Happy Model ended up in the winners circle following a rain-soaked Tropical Turf Handicap at GP. That’s something that trainer Estero Farms is hoping becomes a trend, as this four year old gelding had simply been unable to win after breaking his maiden leading in to his prior start. There were several in the money finishes, but only in his final race of 2018 did Happy Model win something other then a maiden race. Now, he finishes off 2019 the same way, and has pieced together a winning streak. He’s plenty talented, but now he looks to take his game to the next level. This is a good start. Estero Farms is the winning trainer, something that I expect to be saying a lot this year. It’s his first win in the stake, and that is true for jockey T Gaffalione as well. The time of the win on soft turf was 1:37.00. Due to the history of this race, plus the elements, that time cannot be compared to any prior editions.

(1/4 Mile- :24.18)- Far Too Cool, our pick to win from Night Rider Stables, is the fastest of them all of the starting gate, and he ends up being pretty racy in the early going, jumping out to a two length lead over the second place Moscow Court, from Wolfs Den, who also seemed to break well. Jurassic Classic pulls up to the inside of Moscow Court for Establo Pichon as they made their way into the opening turn. A length behind them, we have another pair as Block Message (Tiratzo) is on the inside, and Thanks For Nothing (D J C Racing Stables) was whitelisted to his outside. Further back its Pirate God (Witeout Stables) and Snake Cayes (Joshua Stables), and they have the eventual winner, Happy Model from Estero Farms, right in between them. This threesome is about five and a half lengths from the front. Trailing is the eventual runner up, Id Rather Go Blind, running four wide for TwinTowersRacing.

(½ Mile- :48.29)- We see some moving around in the running order over the second quarter of the race, but none of that is going on at the front end. Far Too Cool is continuing to set a strong pace, and given how the game can be, there was probably some concern in the Night Rider barn at this point. The lead was three over second place Jurassic Classic, who was now running all by himself. His previous running partner, Moscow Court would retreat further into the back. As this was going on, Snake Cayes was looking to make a move, and went to a four wide position. This led to Moscow Court and Snake Cayes now being part of a four wide group which also consisted of Thanks For Nothing and Block Message, four and a half lengths from the lead. Happy Model and Id Rather Go Blind were running side by side, something we’d see more of later, but we’re patiently keeping pace at this point. Pirate God was now the trailer.

(Top Of The Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Down the backstretch, Far Too Cool continues to pour it on despite the lack of pressure, and comfortably leads moving into the turn. As the turn began, we saw Id Rather Go Blind made an aggressive outside move, making his intentions known that he’d moving up from the fifth lane. By the time the field moved into the top of the stretch, Id Rather Go Blind had significantly cut into the lead. Moving up well, too, was Block Message, and these two were within three lengths. Happy Model was happy to see Block Message moving forward, and that there would be no blocking of what was looking like a strong move of his own. Far Too Cool now was in trouble, even with that lead, as we have seen this in our virtual world before. Jurassic Classic, Moscow Court, and Snake Cayes all had time and were still with Happy Model here, but did not appear to have the same power in their stride. Thanks For Nothing was dropping back, and Pirate God remained at the back.

(Finish- 1:37.00)- Far Too Cool’s lead continues to diminish in the stretch as Block Message and Id Rather Go Blind apply the initial pressure. Happy Model, who had been behind Block Message, is now able to move to the rail and makes a strong charge of his own. With about a furlong to go, and once Far Too Cool is passed by Id Rather Go Blind, he packs it in. Happy Model completes the pass of Block Message, but time is running out to catch Id Rather Go Blind. In the stretch, this gelding did not look like a horse that had struggled to win in his past, and showed heart and determination to get up just in time over Id Rather Go Blind in a photo finish. Block Message ran well to be third, but the top two were just a little better. Far Too Cool faded to fourth, mainly because no one else was doing much of anything. The result of the field was a bit disappointing. The final running order would be: Moscow Court, Pirate God, Jurassic Classic, Snake Cayes, and Thanks For Nothing.

About The Winner- Happy Model, trained by Estero Farms, and ridden to victory by T Gaffalione, is a four year old gelding by Model American, and is out of Im Happy. He was bred in Ontario by Night Mare Racing as a third quarter two year old, and acquired by Estero Farms in the September 2017 auction while he was still unraced, for $18.010. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his third in 11 starts, and its his first stake win. His career earnings are now $162.970.

Track: Soft
Time: :24   :48¹  1:12²  1:37

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 7 – 10 Paid 45.40
$1 Trifecta: 7 – 10 – 2 Paid 187.60

Scratched: Crowning Star, Mean Street

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES