Gallant Bob Stakes (Grade 3)- $300.000 Purse
PRX- For Three Year Olds
Six Furlongs on the Dirt
September 22, 2018

Heading into the Gallant Bob Stakes, Lg The Menace had quite a bit of experience at the stake level, but never was able to win any of them. His best efforts were a pair of third place finishes, but as we have seen from other trainers, sometimes a horse needs a confidence booster. For Lg The Menace, that came in his last start, which was an allowance against PA-breds at PID that he would win. It was just the second win of his career, and with that in hand, he was ready to take on this field at the Gallant Bob. You’d be forgiven if you were looking the other way with your pick for this race, but at odds of 6/1, he got steady play. It is the first win in the stake for his trainer, Jkk Racing Stable, who must be credited with sticking with this gelding through some of the disappointing results. Jockey K J Desormeaux is also a first time winner of the stake. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:08.98, and that is a new record for this race! Here’s how it went down!

(1/4 Mile- :22.56)- The horses in the middle of the starting gate are the quickest, and Peculiar Sensation ultimately takes the early lead after a quarter mile, but not my too much. Within a length are Psychotic Ruler, from D J C Racing Stables, and our eventual winner from Jkk Racing Stables, Lg The Menace. They will hold the inside two positions on the track at this stage of this race. Also nearby is the overwhelming longshot, Creep City II, for D J C Racing Stables. He is just a length back behind his stablemate and the winner. Next up would be One Dance (Gdp Inc) and Snakes On A Game (Team 7 Illusions), and the two of them would be in a position to stalk the stalkers, and were not left behind. The remaining three are in the back of the field, running side by side, and only trail by four. That would be Ribot Tilt (John Henry) on the inside, Alpha Uno (Estero Farms) in the middle, and Walkin Broomstick (T Boy Racing) on the outside.

(½ Mile- :45.23)- Rounding the run, and approaching the top of the stretch after half a mile, Peculiar Sensation still seems to be going along pretty well, but her close pursuers have never abandoned the chase. Lg The Menace pokes a head in front of Psychotic Ruler for the second position, and has a great lane for the looming stretch run while running to the inside of Peculiar Sensation. Psychotic Ruler still had the rail and seemed fine here. Creep City II had the outside lane, and if he had some stretch response, a couple in the stands would be very happy. Both One Dance and Snakes On A Game looked to be working together to find a lane to make their move, and the plan looked to be to move to the outside. None of Ribot Tilt, Alpha Uno, and Walkin Broomstick were making a move here, though at just three and a half lengths out, they didn’t need to force it.

(Finish- 1:08.98)- Entering the stretch, Lg The Menace began to take over the lead, but Peculiar Sensation was not giving in. Midway through the stretch, Lg The Menace became the lead, but Peculiar Sensation kept going at him hard, and there was no room for a let up because coming on strongly was Alpha Uno. He was an exciting one to watch in the stretch, as initially it looked like he was going to make an outside move, but R Bejarano called an audible and take the rail for him, and it very nearly paid off. In the end, Lg The Menace prevailed over his rivals to pick up the big win. Perhaps it was that extra confidence he now had that allowed him to prevail. Strong efforts by Alpha Uno, who’s second, and Peculiar Sensation, who is fourth. One Dance was good in the closing moments as well, and maybe with a quicker decision on which lane to take at the top of the stretch, this race could have been his, but here he will settle for third. Fifth place Snakes On A Game was in the second place photo as well. Psychotic Ruler’s race line of sixth will look worse then his actual effort was. Walkin Broomstick started moving way too late, and the longshot Creep City II is eighth, though defeated Ribot Tilt, who never got involved.

About The Winner- Lg The Menace, trained by Jkk Racing Stables, and ridden to victory by K J Desormeaux, is a three year old gelding by Mordred, and is out of My Lg. He was bred as a yearling in the great breeding state of PA by Jkk Racing Stables, and they have been together throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his third in 13 starts, and his first stake win of any sort. His career earnings are now $266.640.

Track: Fast
Time: :22²  :45¹  :56⁴  1:08⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 5 – 8 Paid 248.80
$1 Trifecta: 5 – 8 – 2 Paid 394.10

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES