Powerful Stretch Run Unfolds in The OH Derby

By Nynl Stables on June 23, 2019

The OH Derby (Grade 3)- $500.000 Purse
TDN- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
June 22, 2019

There is no denying that Unfold has plenty of talent. His works had been great, and he showed his racing ability in races like the TAM Derby, where he placed third. At the same time, he had a couple duds recently, too, so it is tough to know what to expect from him. In the preview, I wrote that I would not be surprised if he won, or if he finished last. To this point, he has been that kind of horse. As I shy away from inconsistent horses when making my selections, I looked past him when making my picks. In the eighth running of the OH Derby, Unfold showed his good side, and got a hard fought victory, which is the second of his career. Looking at his last two races now, it’s easy to be more optimistic, but he still can’t regress after this. The winning trainer is Mb Stables, crossing another stake off the decreasing list of those he has not won yet. R M Hernandez is the winning jockey, his first such win. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:48.07, the second quickest of the four editions run at this distance. Let’s take a look at it!

(½ Mile- :47.12)- As the race begins, John Henry’s Tongariro has a particularly good race, much like he did in the Barrera a month prior. Blowberg, out of Estero Farms, also breaks well and chases the leader around the opening turn before settling in a length behind him. The third horse in this initial run to the front was Gdp Inc’s Ete Crack, though he backed off two and a half lengths from the lead. The horse to his outside, Beaver Wars, had an unusual start to the race for Team 7 Illusions. The traditional closer seemed to be dropping back as he normally does, but in the first turn, he made an aggressive four wide move to advance forward and to be only three lengths back. Nearby to this was Asset Allocation, running the rail for Mb Stables. The eventual winner, Unfold, from Mb Stables, was next in line running five lengths back. Where You At (Rampage Stable) was just to his outside. Trailing are Bo Knows (Joshua Stables), Marx On The Moon (Court Jester Racing), and the pacesetters stablemate, King Niagra.

(3/4 Mile- 1:10.71)- There isn’t much to talk about here. The field runs in the same order down the backstretch with no moves of interest from anyone in the field. Tongariro still has his length and a half lead at this point. Will he hold it through the turn? Let’s move on!

(Top Of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Yes, he does. Tongariro does so in a graceful manner as well, maintaining his lead while a bunch of shuffling begins to happen behind him. Blowberg remained in his second, too, but now had Ete Crack pulled up to be just alongside him. They really got jumbled up behind them, but the one horse that seemed ok here was Asset Allocation, as he continued to ride the rail. Unfold wanted to move forward, but did not have any real room to make a move at this point as he would run into the back of Ete Crack. Beaver Wars began to lose some ground on the outside, and Where You At also looked to be losing touch. Marx On The Moon, our pick to win, made a five wide move, and had closed in on the rest of the field and seemed to be looking good right here. Bo Knows was also making a charge, but doing so on the inside, and hoped to follow Asset Allocation on through. King Niagra opted to watch the excitement instead of participating in it.

(Finish- 1:48.07)- As Ete Crack moved down a little, a lane was created for Unfold to come on through, and boy, did he ever. Soon after reaching the stretch, Unfold exploded through this gap and had an additional gear that no one in this field was able to match. It was an impressive stretch performance, and Mb Stables will be hoping this is the new norm. Ete Crack was solid in the stretch as well and gets second while the pacesetter, Tongariro does hold on for third. Marx On The Moon used his outside trip to get up for the fourth place check. Bo Knows, however, ran out of room to run in the stretch when Asset Allocation came down on him, and he had to avoid running into Blowberg, who lacked stretch response. This hindrance really cost him, and without it, odds are that he hits the board. Instead, he is fifth. Asset Allocation, and Blowberg were nearby, then it was Beaver Wars and the disappointing King Niagra.

About The Winner- Unfold, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by R M Hernandez, is a three year old gelding by Lannisport, and is out of In That Case. He was bred in New York as a yearling by Fractious, and acquired when he was still unraced by Mb Stables in the September 2018 auction for a mere $7.890. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his second in eight starts, and his first stake win of any type. His career earnings are now $451.000.

Horse Name

Owner Name

Jockey

Odds

Fin

Time

SRF

Unfold

Mb Stables

Hernandez R M

6.55

1¹