Peace Pipe Smokes The Sanford Field In The Stretch

By Nynl Stables on July 17, 2022

The Sanford (Grade 3)- $175.000 Purse
SAR- For Two Year Olds
Six Furlongs on the Dirt
July 16, 2022

One of the great things about two year old stakes races in July is their unpredictable nature while getting to know horses that we will likely be hearing about for a long time. The Sanford is one of those races, and the race did seem to be up for grabs. So, it can come as a little bit of a win when three of your four picks in the preview ended up taking three of the four spots in the race. Of course, the one we picked to win was the one who did not finish as well. The one who did win, was Peace Pipe, a gelding trained by Arindel that was turning in some great works heading into it. Peace Pipe would show that he could translate those works to the track, and could do it with a running style that is hard to win with in our virtual world. He earns the first Sanford win for both Arindel and jockey L Saez. Congratulations to them! The time of the victory was 1:09.37, which is one of the better winning times of the race. Here’s a look at it!

(1/4 Mile- :22.33)- Major Problem bursts out of the starting gate for Rousee and opens up a lead of two lengths as they head down the backstretch. As he runs by himself, there is a group of four that battles for the second position, and the D J C Racing Stables- trained Union Avenue prevails with that while running in the outside lane. Chilly Chill runs third for Fractious, and on each side of him are horses that are a half length behind. Lumineer runs on the rail for Aarons Hosses, and in the third lane, we have Navajo Hopes, for El Primero Rodeo. In the middle of the field, there’s a group of three that consists of Sufficient (Mb Stables), Nygard (Kopites), and Drop Off (Williams9). It’s another length to Iron And Steel (TwinTowersRacing), and at the back of the pack, 6-7 lengths out of it, we have a threesome consisting of our winner, Arindel’s Peace Pipe, as well as Muzzle (South Shore Stables) and Whiskey Drink (First Flight Stable).

(½ Mile- :45.15, Top of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- Major Problem is hoping to cause exactly that for the rest of the field as he handles the turn very well, allowing him to continue leading the field by two lengths. None of the horses that were closest to him have made any progress, and the wide trip of Union Avenue forces him to lose a little ground. Lumineer, Chilly Chill, and Navajo Hopes are still to his inside. The group of three that ran in the middle of the pack are still there, but they left plenty of room for a horse to come through on the rail. That would be our winner, Peace Pipe, taking advantage of that, being the strongest runner within the turn, and pulling himself into sixth as he is now a head in front of Sufficient. The best news for Arindel is that his horse would not have to break stride to continue advancing because that room on the rail could carry him in front of the four directly ahead of him now, while giving him time to put a run on Major Problem.

(Finish- 1:09.37)- Major Problem leads into the stretch, but the field begins to fan out behind him as the group of four stalkers were now met by the three that had been running behind them, and those horses seemed to have more running room. Peace Pipe, however, was clearly the biggest threat to the pacesetter, getting by other horses that were still in very good stride, such as Nygard and Drop Off, and moved into second with a furlong to go. Approaching the wire, it looked like Major Problem might have been getting a little leg weary, and that helped the cause of Peace Pipe, but take nothing away from the stretch desire that Peace Pipe showed here as he completes the pass for the win! In a tight photo, Major Problem hangs on for second over the outside running Drop Off, and Nygard was close by for fourth. Sufficient, Navajo Hopes, and Lumineer are next, followed by Chilly Chill, Whiskey Drink, Union Avenue, Muzzle, and Iron And Steel.

About The Winner- Peace Pipe, trained by Arindel and ridden to victory by L Saez, is a two year old gelding by Apache and is out of Real Big Hugs. He was trained by Iolaus Racing as a yearling in California and acquired by Arindel in private sales in early May for $250.000. The win is his second in three starts, and his first stake win. His career earnings are now $192.320.

Horse Name

Owner Name

Jockey

Odds

Fin

Time

SRF

Peace Pipe

Arindel

Saez L

4.30

1^hd