Valedictory Stakes- Grade 3 ($125.000 Purse)
WO- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Half on the Dirt
December 9, 2018

With two horses coming into the Valedictory Stakes fresh off of top three finishes at the Grade 2 Marathon last month, they seemed to be the ones to beat in this race. There was one horse in the field that seemed very capable of knocking them off, though, and that was Pomodoro. Many picks in the voucher contest being run by Mb Stables had some form of “4-3-1″ between them. After twelve furlongs, Pomodoro proved to be the best in this race, holding off the horse to beat, Range Of The Sun. Longshot Whiskey Creek would get up for third. The winning trainer is Aer Stables, earning his first win in the stake, and the same is true for jockey G Boulanger. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 2:29.55, in the middle of previous winning times of this race. Here’s a look at it.

(½ Mile- :48.55)- Branded, from Hambletonian Stable, gets the pace set quickly for the opening half mile as he jumps out to the uncontested lead, and opened up by three lengths pretty fast. Once with that advantage, he stabilizes as they hit the finish line on the first lap. Whiskey Creek, from Calia Stable, ran second, but this horse that is usually always the pacesetter was smart not too get pushed forward by Branded. Our eventual winner from Aer Stables, Pomodoro, ran third, less then a length behind Whiskey Creek while running to his inside. Range Of The Sun was a length behind him for Team 7 Illusions. Then we had a gap of about three more lengths where Higher Limit (Night Rider Stables) and Seven Iron (Rock Creek) ran side by side.

(3/4 Mile- 1:13.33)- Halfway through the race, Branded backs off just a little bit over the next quarter mile, but is still maintaining a comfortable advantage. Just prior to hitting the six furlong mark, we began to see R M Hernandez urge Range Of The Sun forward, and he now moves into the second position, a little more then two lengths back. It seemed as though he might be about to cut into this lead more once down the backstretch. Whiskey Creek and Pomodoro were not interested in moving forward themselves at that time, and maintained their same pace as we move into the backstretch. Higher Limit and Seven Iron remained at the back, and by themselves. By the time the backstretch trip did eventually end, the move of Range Of The Sun would see him get the lead just prior to entering the final turn. Whiskey Creek and Pomodoro were about to pass Branded as well, as this seemed to be a case of Branded getting leg weary.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Once Range Of The Sun got by Branded moving into the turn, his supporters had to be feeling good about him, but Pomodoro was doing a great job keeping pace. As they rounded the turn, Pomodoro was along the rail and was a little better then Range Of The Sun, and he would take the lead on exit of the final turn. At the top of the stretch, he pulled in front by a length and was looking really good at this point. Range Of The Sun was still second, though Whiskey Creek was right behind him and looking good. For Branded, the bottom fell out, and he would already be five lengths out, running fifth. Higher Limit had gotten by, but that one still had a lot of ground to cover. Seven Iron had not cut into the lead, at all.

(Finish- 2:29.55)- There would be no drama or Miami miracles about this stretch run, as Pomodoro gracefully maintained his speed and even pulled away even further to get the win, taking the race by two lengths. Range Of The Sun will have to settle for being second best. Whiskey Creek lost ground in the stretch as he too seemed to tire, but he was far enough ahead of everyone else by that time, and he remained third, barely over Higher Limit. Seven Iron was never a factor, though he did defeat Branded, who was thoroughly gassed as he hit the wire.

About The Winner- Pomodoro, trained by Aer Stables and ridden to victory by G Boulanger, is a three year old gelding by Keyed Up and is out of the late Belly Laff. He was bred in Ontario by Team 7 Illusions as a yearling, and acquired by Aer Stables, via LionKing Stables, in private sales this September for $35.000. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his fifth in 16 starts, and it is his first stake win of any sort. His career earnings are now $240.890.

Track: Fast
Time: :48²  1:13¹  2:03³  2:29²

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 3 – 4 Paid 10.10
$1 Trifecta: 3 – 4 – 5 Paid 129.80

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES