Outside Post Not an Issue for Nowhere Man in WO Mile

By Nynl Stables on September 16, 2018

WO Mile (Grade 1) (BC)- $800.000 Purse
WO- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on the Turf
September 15, 2018

Nowhere Man started in one of the outside posts for this race, something that we saw a lot of with entries from Mb Stables this weekend. That didn’t matter for the trainer, as he scores a bit of an upset victory with a horse that had not won much of anything since winning the Nashua last year. His odds were nearly 13/1, but in a race where the post time favorite was 6/1, it is pretty clear that bettors had a difficult time handicapping this race. Nowhere Man prevents Compress from winning the race for the third year in a row, as that one finishes fifth. It is the first time that Mb Stables has won the stake, and that is true for jockey L H Colon, as well. Congratulations to them! I have to be a little cautious about declaring he is in the BC now despite this being a win and you’re in race due to the restrictions that are ultimately placed on stables, which could lead to a trainer like Mb going in another direction. The time of the win was 1:32.74, middle of the road for the stakes history, but the quickest winning time since 2012. Let’s take a look.

(1/4 Mile- :22.82)- They burst out of the gate and head down the backstretch with three of them looking a little more ambitious then the rest of the field to run a quick pace. It would eventually be Z One Chance, another one who started from the outside, taking the lead for John Henry, and after a quarter mile, he’s ahead by nearly a length. Starting quickly as well were Awesome Indeed for TwinTowersRacing and Stormy Bello, for Joshua Stables. They battle it out for second and are heads apart. Stormy Bello was able to get to the rail, but Awesome Indeed would not be, so despite them starting next to each other in the gate, a wide gap opened up between them. Looking to move into that gap would be the two time defending champion Compress, for Cherrytree Hill Farm, and Worse Case Scenario, for Mb Stables. In a comfortable position a length off of this battle was Apollos Gold, out of Team 7 Illusions who rode the rail. Behind him, Devil Six (D J C Racing Stables) and Duke Or Earl (Gdp Inc) were heads apart, with Cobra Skull (John Henry) to their inside, and the eventual winner, Nowhere Man to their outside for Mb Stables. Nowhere Man was four and a half lengths back at this point. Liverpool Rocket, starting in post #14 was next and still in an outer lane here. Decibel (Threshold), Dignified (Mb Stables), and Swamp Fox (Blushing Meadows) round out the order.

(½ Mile- :45.70)- Z One Chance is able to cross over to the second lane midway down the backstretch to get a good position for the turn. He is running well, but Stormy Bello has now moved up to join him, and they are now running side by side as the trip around the turn commences. Compress is third, and seems to be in a good spot here, just a length and a half out. To his outside, Awesome Indeed keeps him close. Worst Case Scenario runs a solid fifth here, while Apollos Gold looks to be preparing for a calculated move as he sits behind the leaders, just two and half back. There’s a slight gap behind him to the rest of the field, which now sees Nowhere Man making a bit of a move, moving into a three wide position to the outside of Devil Six and Duke Or Earl, but his push for the win had not quite started. Cobra Skull was near that threesome on the rail. Behind them, none of Swamp Fox, Decibel, Dignified, or Liverpool Rocket were looking to advance, though Dignified could potentially follow Nowhere Man through if he had run coming.

(Top of Stretch, 2F to Go)- Not a lot really went on during the turn, and as they hit the top of the stretch, you had to be feeling really good if you were John Henry, the trainer of Z One Chance. He still held the lead, and push a little ahead of Stormy Bello entering the stretch. Stormy Bello, at this point still looked like he would be competitive. Two lengths back, both Compress and Awesome Again were next, but not making a move, and now they had been joined by Worst Case Scenario, and the lurking Apollos Gold, who seemed to be one of the top threats to Z One Chance for the stretch. Meanwhile, Nowhere Man was making progress, and cleared the three he had been running with and set his sights on the rest of the field. He was still three and a half lengths out, though, so the question would be if he had enough time. Cobra Skull, Duke Or Earl, and Devil Six, his early running mates, were not advancing with him. Dignified found a hole and look to move through the field a bit. On the rail, Swamp Fox had a great position on the track to move up and pass several. Liverpool Rocket and Decibel trailed.

(Finish- 1:32.74)- On the far outside, and seemingly also drifting ever so slightly as he made his charge, Nowhere Man charged through the field and caught Z One Chance just in time to get the win. Z One Chance may have begun to fatigue a little in the late moments to help this, but a big win for Mb Stables and L H Colon. Apollos Gold and Worst Case Scenario finish in a dead heat for third, as neither of them really put much of a run on Z One Chance, and were still a length behind him at the wire as the field began to bunch up. Compress will have to settle for fifth this year. Dignified came through late to get up for sixth, edging out Awesome Indeed for that spot. On the rail, Swamp Fox picked off a few spots, but needing to avoid Stormy Bello hindered his run. Cobra Skull and Duke Or Earl are next with very uneventful runs. Liverpool Rocket made a very wide move for the stretch, but it did not gain him much. Devil Six was another who ran with the pack the whole race. Stormy Bello fell all the way to 13th, but did beat Decibel.

About The Winner- Nowhere Man, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by L H Colon, is a three year old gelding by Keyed Up, and is out of Lemon C. He was bred in Ontario by Team 7 Illusions as a yearling, and acquired by Mb Stables, via Smokey Stover, in private sales in July 2018 for $200.000. Congratulations to the connections! His career earnings are now $762.620.

Horse Name

Owner Name

Jockey

Odds

Fin

Time

SRF

Nowhere Man

Mb Stables

Colon L H

12.75

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