The PIM Special (Grade 3)- $250.000 Purse
PIM- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
May 14, 2021
Last year, Graveyard was here at PIM, running in the PRK. He did not cash a check that day, placing fifth, but was within a length of the winner. On this PRK weekend, the light was not as bright over the The PIM Special, but Graveyard still had the opportunity to show that he was not dead from running against the best. He would step up, and pick up what ends up being his third win in four races. All in all, we were on the ball with our top four picks, correctly boxing the superfecta, though that might not be saying much since they were the top four betting choices. Congratulations to Mb Stables, as he scores his fourth PIM Special win, all coming in the last seven years! E Jaramillo is the winning jockey, his first win in the stake. The time of the race was 1:41.06, in what was the first time it was ever run at this distance. Let’s take a look!
(¼ Mile- :23.77)- From the outside, Waldo’s Ulterior Motive is shot out of the starting gate like a cannon, and quickly gets over to the inside. Once settling in, he leads by a length and a half over Maxmillion Farm’s Gran Z, who is a half length ahead of both Night Creature and Splash Mountain, who are out of D J C Racing Stables and John Henry, respectively. Sneaky One runs fifth, and in the fourth lane for Arindel. In the middle of the field, Lockdown locks down the rail for Patterson Stables with the eventual winner of the race, Mb Stables’ Graveyard running even with him to his outside. Also in this group, is Hurricane Run, running in the fifth lane for Simmer Down Stable. Trailing are Clubhouse (Crocker Ggs), Machine Gun Tommy (Nakamura Stables), and Tango Mango (Nakamura Stables).
(½ Mile- :47.30)- Ulterior Motive is not challenged during the backstretch trip, maintaining his length and a half advantage over his closest competitors. Gran Z, Night Creature, and Splash Mountain are all holding their stalking position, but at the top of the turn, they all move over a lane in a nice synchronized fashion, and this would allow all of them a nice and clear lane for the turn. Running behind them, is a group of four that are also lined up. Sneaky One backed into this group, while Lockdown seems to have the best lane of them at this time. Graveyard holds his line in the second lane for now, while Hurricane Run is still on the outside. The others also form a three wide line behind them.
(Top Of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- Looking at how they were setting up at the top of the turn, you had the feeling that Graveyard was going to have to push in front of Lockdown, do it quickly, and allow him the option to either hold his line or move to the inside depending on how things set up in front of him. Graveyard would do exactly that. The four frontrunners were still running side by side, with Ulterior Motive showing enough fight to hang in there. Night Creature had poked a head in front at the top of the stretch, but both Gran Z and Splash Mountain were still running on each side of him, along with Ulterior Motive. Sneaky One and Hurricane Run were beginning to drop out, and Lockdown looked like he was about to do the same, just not as quickly. Machine Gun Tommy, Clubhouse, and Tango Mango were all close enough to make a run themselves, but the time to move was now.
(Finish- 1:41.06)- Early in the stretch, Night Creature looked pretty good, and seemed like he could pull away from Gran Z and Splash Mountain. Graveyard was now stalking them, much like they had stalked Ulterior Motive previously. For Graveyard, things set up for him well to where he could just hold his lane in the stretch and power on through if he had the legs underneath him to do so. In the final furlong, there was no one better than Graveyard, taking that line, and getting up just in time over Gran Z, who also fought hard to the wire. Splash Mountain takes third, over Night Creature. Night Creature really struggled in the final half furlong. It was about two lengths to the rest of the field. With Clubhouse getting fifth, but never in the picture to get a top four here. Rounding it out, it is Tango Mango, Machine Gun Tommy, Ulterior Motive, Lockdown, Hurricane Run, and sneaking by no one, was Sneaky One.
About The Winner- Graveyard, trained by Mb Stables, and ridden to victory by E Jaramillo, is a four year old colt by Bronx Bomber, and is out of Cobra Deth. He was bred in New York as a first quarter two year old by Aer Stables, and acquired by Mb Stables in a February 2019 private sale, while he was still unraced, for $120.000. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his sixth in 18 starts, his third stake win, and second graded win. His career earnings are now $1,129.440.
Track: Fast
Time: :233 :471 1:104 1:41
$2 Mutuel Prices:
$1 Exacta: 6 – 1 Paid 29.90
$1 Trifecta: 6 – 1 – 10 Paid 79.30
Scratched: None
— NS
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES
