7/26/2020

 8   SAR       The Baruch Handicap (GII)

   $150.000                            3yo&Up                              1 1/16m InTurf                          Hcp Weights

I sure didn’t get much right in this one…  sent off as the 1.40 favorite, Jkk Racing Stables’ Im Special ran an awkward race where he broke alertly, drifted back through the field then came again when the money was on the line, going under the wire in front by a length in a final time of 1:38⁴, taking The Baruch Hcp (GII) on the firm SAR inner turf course.   Hefner loomed large down the lane but couldn’t hold off the winner, settling for second, with Lets Do It Big Boy a head back in third.

The field of eleven loaded quickly and were away in good order with The Force Awakens on the early gas, Puzzle from the far outside, Im Special next to that one, Command Authority and Unamerican from the inside, Spiral and Sundays Sauce were next, the Lets Do It Big Boy, Nowhere Man, Hefner and Dreaming Of Pirates was the early trailer.

Around the clubhouse turn and moving towards the back stretch with six furlongs to run, Puzzle up to take the lead, The Force Awakens on the hedge and giving chase, then a gap back to Unamerican, Im Special losing ground through the turn, Nowhere Man moving up give wide, back towards the inside to Command Authority, Sundays Sauce along the hedge, a length back to Lets Do It Big Boy from between horses, Spiral to his inside, Hefner to his outside and Dreaming Of Pirates continued to trail the field.

Down the backside and now nearing the far turn with three furlongs left in this one, Puzzle continued to show the way by two lengths.  The Force Awakens tracking the leader, another length and a half to the foursome of Nowhere Man, Lets Do It Big Boy, Hefner up five wide and Unamerican, another length to Im Special,  Sunday Sauce to his inside, then a gap back to Command Authority, Dreaming Of Pirates and now Spiral at the rear.

Move around the far turn and into the lane, the field passed the furlong pole and holy smokes… six across the track and fanned out wide for the drive.  Puzzle by a nose, Im Special, Lets Do It Big Boy and Hefner down the center of the track. The Force Awakens up the rail, Unamerican in the four path, then a length to Sundays Sauce on his outside, Command Authority feeling the whip, Nowhere Man trying to find more, then a gap back to the trailing duo of Spiral and Dreaming Of Pirates.

Deep stretch… inside the final 150-yards and to the finish, Im Special to the lead by a length, Hefner trying to find more, widest of all, Lets Do It Big Boy just to his inside, but as they hit the wire, it was Im Special by a length.  Hefner was a game second, a head better than Lets Do It Big Boy, another length to Unamerican in fourth, just nosing out Puzzle in fifth.  Command Authority was sixth, Sundays Sauce seventh, The Force Awakens eighth, Spiral in ninth, Dreaming Of Pirates tenth and Nowhere Man tiring to be last in the field of eleven.

Im Special is a black 5yo gelded son of Ideal Edge – Old Pink, by Pink Panther, and he was bred in Cal by Eastern Equine.  Claimed by Jkk Racing Stables back in Aug of 2018 for just $14.000, he now shows six wins from nineteen starts, two of those wins coming this season, and total earnings of $320.670.

$2 Mutuel Prices:
 

Track: Firm              Time: :23¹  :46³  1:09⁴  1:38⁴
$1 Exacta: 7 – 8 Paid 79.70          $1 Trifecta: 7 – 8 – 5 Paid 1,323.60
Scratched: None

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES