NY Stallion Series- Bid ($100.000 Purse)
BEL- For Three Year Olds Foaled in NY
Seven Furlongs on the Turf
June 26, 2016

Neto has always had a knack for being near the front at the end of a race, he just hadn’t always won.  Before his last race, he had just his maiden win in nine starts, but a bunch of other solid finishes where he hit the board and was within a length at the end.   Last month, for the first time, the Diplomatic Immunity colt made it to BEL for the first time and ran seven furlongs on the turf in an allowance.  Most people liked him that day, and he won the event in an impressive manner.  The trainer, D J C Racing Stables, put him back in those same conditions for the Bid, and we gave Neto our backing, anointing him as our favorite, and he would go off as the second choice.  It would be up to Neto to show he could follow a win with another win, and with J Ortiz aboard, he would get the job done!  For D J C Racing Stables, winning the Bid is becoming a yearly routine, as it is his third such win in four years.  J L Ortiz picks up his first such trophy. Congratulations! The time of the win was 1:20.71, making it the second fastest running of the race.  Here’s a summary of how it unfolded.

1st- 5- Neto (2/1)- Today’s winner from D J C Racing Stables was the sharpest of them all out of the gate, and initially jumped out to a length advantage before letting Devils Colors get up there and lead at the quarter.  Neto backed off a length behind, running alongside Underpaid Jockeys for a little while.   He was strong in the turn, though the fading of Devils Colors may have made added extra effect to how impressive it looked.  Midway into the turn, he reclaimed the lead and by the top of the stretch he had almost a two length advantage.  To his benefit, his primary challenger in the stretch, Rip Rip Woodchip, had to go about five wide, so he never really felt that much pressure in the stretch.  Neto didn’t have to kick it into an extra gear, just had to keep his current stride in form, and he was able to do that to pick up the win!  Neto is a three year old colt by Diplomatic Immunity and out of Spanish Edge.  He was bred in New York as a first quarter two year old by D J C Racing Stables, the only owner for which he has ever known! Congratulations to the connections!

2nd- 3- Rip Rip Woodchip (7/2)- Our eventual runner up in the Our Athletes silks got off to a pretty good start himself, and stalk the leaders early on while racing alongside Tumbleweed.  About midway into the turn, J J Castellano likely sensed that Underpaid Jockeys and Devils Colors might not be able to maintain the pace, and moved Rip Rip Woodchip to their outside. This proved to be a great move as both of them did fade pretty quickly, and I don’t think he was catching Neto, regardless.

3rd- 1- Yellow Rolls Royce (6/1)- The Blushing Meadows entry may have appeared sluggish at the start, spotting the field five or slow lengths right from the gate, but this is his normal running style.  He was about seven lengths from the lead into the turn.  He would cut into the lead over the course of the turn, and make his late bid in the stretch, running well.  However, he spotted Neto too much ground and came up two lengths short.

4th- 2- Tumbleweed (3/2)- The post time favorite from Hambletonian Stable started well, and would be content to stalk the leaders early on.  He had a clear lane along the rail as they moved into the turn thanks to the dropping of back of Yellow Rolls Royce.  Continued to run a steady race around the turn and into the stretch.  What he needed, though, was that spark in the stretch, in comparison to the others.

5th- 4- Underpaid Jockeys (44/1)– Started among the leaders for John Henry, and seemed to be in a good position, in second and a length back, as they moved into the turn.  As he approached the exit of the turn, and at about the same time as Devils Colors packed it in, Underpaid Jockeys was just not able to respond when such a response was needed.  The longshot would be a non-factor at the end.

6th- 6- Devils Colors (13/1)- Broke well out of the gate for Allinthegate, matching strides with Neto early before pulling head to set the opening quarter in :23.23. Neto began to recapture that lead around the turn, and before they reached the stretch, Devils Colors had called it a day.

Track: Firm
Time: :23¹  :46   1:08⁴  1:20³

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 5 – 3 Paid 10.90
$1 Trifecta: 5 – 3 – 1 Paid 48.70

Scratched: None

Winner picked by NS

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded