Read Stakes (Grade 2)- $250.000 Purse
DMR- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Turf
July 17, 2016

Jovan River was allowed to get out on the lead, and he never had to look back as he picked up his fifth consecutive victory in the Grade 2 Read Stakes at DMR, keeping his perfect record for 2016 in tact.  The streak began at TAM against allowance company in January, and since then all he knows how to do is win.  This victory is the second graded win for the five year old, as he was coming off a win in the Grade 3 Poker Handicap last month.   Here, he got out to the lead and would go to wire to wire in the win.  The winning trainer is Mb Stables, who wins a Grade 2 for the 104th time in his illustrious career, but it’s the first time he’s captured this one.  F Pennington made his trip away from PRX count as he earned his first career win in the stake.   The time of the race was 1:45.48, which puts in the middle of the pack as far as past editions of the race are concerned.  Congratulations! Let’s look at it a little more!

1st- 6- Jovan River (5/2)- The eventual race winner from Mb Stables was sharp out of the gate, and after an initial battle with Keep Silent, he would be the one who would emerge with the lead as they moved into the opening turn.  He would pull out to a length advantage momentarily at this time until Milestone made a push to keep him company on the lead.  He would maintain a graceful stride in the backstretch, setting the 1/2-mile time in :47.07, and as it went on, Milestone would call off his challenge.  This extended the advantage back to about a length and a half as they moved into the final turn, while setting the 3/4 fraction in 1:10.01.   Turf master F Pennington continued to have no problems with Jovan River around the turn, and even with Keep Silent starting to inch a bit closer, he still held a half length lead.  With a furlong to go, Spotted Cat was making his expected charge, but it was coming from way out in centerfield as that one was forced six wide.  That kept the race’s runner up from really making Jovan River sweat.  Jovan River had enough in the tank to hold on to the wire and pick up the win in a time of 1:45.48!  Jovan River is a five year old gelding by the late Joba C and out of the late Special River.  He was bred in Ontario by Canadian Racing as a third quarter two year old and was purchased by Mb Stables in the June 2014 auction for $164.000, and he has remained there ever since.  Congratulations to the connections!

2nd- 4- Spotted Cat (7/2)- Our pre-race pick from Blushing Meadows began the race much like he usually does, going to the back of the pack.  He was not concerned with the early pace, but seemed to be conceding a little too much ground over the first half of the race.  Continued to remain rather unhurried over the backstretch before D Moran opted for a wide move out of the turn when a hole between Full Speed Ahead and Kenny Wisconsin seemed begging for him to come through.  It then seemed like he could move to the rail for the stretch drive (or split Jovan River and Keep Silent), but instead, Spotted Cat was sent six wide. In that wide lane, he ran well, but it would not be enough to catch Jovan River.  This is why I question the jockey’s decision here to run so wide when other options seemed to be available.

3rd- 5- Keep Silent (24/1)- The longest shot on the board, from Nakamura Stables, broke alertly out of the gate and seemed to have visions of challenging Jovan River for the early advantage before settling on a stalking position.  The longshot kept in touch with Jovan River quite well, even while Milestone couldn’t, and continued to shadow the pacesetter around the final turn. Stayed in the position, and started to get a little closer late in the stretch.  At the same time, he did very well to hold off the late push off all but one of them, and earns a respectable third place finish.

4th- 2- Kenny Wisconsin (4/1)- The Frozen Tundra entry got off to an average start, sitting midpack just off the lead by about two lengths as they moved into the first turn.  Seemed to have it locked into cruise control over the course of the backstretch trip, and as they moved into the final turn, he looked to make a move to the outside of Milestone, who appeared to be struggling a little.  Once in the lane, he was in great form, and seemed to be matching strides with Spotted Cat for a while.  In the end, he finishes a very close fourth.

5th- 3- Milestone (2/1)- Making his unexpected return to the turf, the post time favorite from Mcl Stables started midpack initially, but made a concerted push to get up to a stalking position by the time they moved into the opening turn.  As the backstretch run began, he had pulled to within a half length of the lead, but would get no closer.  He would, in fact, start to lose a little ground over this portion of the race.  In the turn, he struggled to keep pace, and had no response for the stretch.

6th- 1- Full Speed Ahead (6/1)- The Night Rider Stables entry would have been in the back of the field early if it were not for Spotted Cat being way back there, but this too, was not a surprise.  Maintained his position over the course of the backstretch, and into the turn.  At the top of the stretch, he was three lengths back and we were waiting for him to get that strong close going.  It never happened.

Track: Firm
Time: :47   1:10   1:33²  1:45²

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 6 – 4 Paid 13.60
$1 Trifecta: 6 – 4 – 5 Paid 243.50

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES