If you followed our picks, you should have done fairly well… but, according to the pick-em, nobody picked the winner (even though I know Scotty did, and his pick disappeared… how convenient).  Yeap, Scotty hands out the tri, Mb rules the day, we had a dead-heat… could it have been any better? 

When it was all said and done, Good Memories, owned by Mb Stables, tracked the pace, moved up when asked into the far turn, and dominated down the lane to take Saturday’s BEL Stakes (GI) by a length, although it looked bigger to me.  Baffert, from the Royalty Stables, closed a late gap but just didn’t have an answer to for the winner and took the second spot by a quarter length over the dead-heat of Poison Arrow, also from the Mb Stables barn, and Team Leader, from the Fractious string. 

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Fourteen went to the gate with the scratched trio of Excoiator, Hyakutake and Ocean Storm… and as the SAR gates popped open, the field was off and running in the 2024 BEL (GI).  As they made their way past the stands the first time, Gaslight along the rail, Team Leader crossing past foes to join that one, Good Memories between and just behind that pair, Backroad Bounty from the outside, then down to the rail for Fire Chase, Hoku next to that one, Doc Rivers out wider and the filly, Spirit Storm, caught widest of all, then Fujisan, just behind that group.  A gap of two to Poison Arrow, another length to Key To The Forrest on the rail, Baffert next to that one, Fun Runner and Im Sorry So Sorry, the early trailer.

Around the far turn and onto the backside, strung out like Brown’s cows, six furlongs to run… Gaslight along the rail, Team Leader looking that one in the eye out wider, Good Memories, just behind that pair, Backroad Bounty to the outside of that one, then a gap to a wall that included Fire Chase, Hoku, Fujisan, Doc Rivers and Spirit Storm.  Then another big gap to the trailing five-some that included Poison Arrow, Im Sorry So Sorry, Key To The Forrest, Fun Runner and Baffert, now the back marker.

Now making their way down the backside and moving into the far turn, flying past the five-eighths pole, Team Leader moved up to stick a nose in front as Gaslight looked to be headed in the wrong direction, but more importantly, Good Memories joined to make it three between that pair.  A length back to Backroad Bounty on the outside of Fire Chase.  Another gap to the trio of Fujisan between horses, Hoku on the rail, Doc Rivers to his outside, two back to Spirit Storm, another length to Poison Arrow, Baffert on his outside, wider to I’m Sorry So Sorry, Key To The Forrest on the rail and Fun Runner.

Around the far turn and into the lane, Good Memories had disposed of the threats and was now clear by two.  Team Leader trying to find more, likewise for Fire Chase, Backroad Bounty out wide, Gaslight backed out of it, Fujisan, Doc Rivers to his outside, Poison Arrow, Hoku on the rail and Baffert now moving forwardly.  Key To The Forrest on the outside of that one, then Im Sorry So Sorry and Fun runner. 

Deep stretch, this was all about Good Memories and the big barn taking yet another big TC race… the closers were flying past the tiring front runners, so Good Memories clear, Team Leader still trying, Fire Chase still in the frame, but Baffert was flying home with his patented late move, Poison Arrow also showing a great closing kick, then Fujisan… the rest were trying to find more, but the shadow of the wire was upon them. 

To the wire, this was all about Good Memories as the closers just had no chance of getting to him… he was full of run and went under the wire in front by a length.  Baffert continued on to be a very game second, then a quarter length to the dead-heat for third between Poison Arrow and Team Leader.  It was another neck to Fujisan, a head to Fire Chase in sixth, Key To The Forrest in seventh, Backroad Bounty eighth, Gaslight ninth, Doc Rivers tenth, Spirit Storm eleventh, Hoku twelfth, I’m Sorry So Sorry thirteenth, Fun Runner fourteenth. 

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