The Haskell (Grade 1) (BC)- $1,000.000 Purse
MTH- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
July 29, 2018

In this year’s Haskell, Pretty Ferro became a pretty large favorite. In the pick ‘em, 48% of users selected him to be the winner, thus saving quite a few of us from getting zero points in the entire competition, he also saved quite a few in the survivor competition. At odds of 6/5, he was the horse to beat, and it was no secret as to why. Not since he became a gelding had he lost two races in a row, and with a change of the jockey to J R Velazquez, that streak was not about to become three. Pretty Ferro would run a smart race, and save his best for the stretch, much like we saw out of him in the KYD. That was not a surprise, but what was a surprise was the horse that he had to hold off. Now, we suggested that The Spaniard could be a spoiler in the preview, and he stepped up rather well, and almost got the win. Pretty Ferro, however, was not going to be beaten, and picks up the first career Haskell win for trainer Estero Farms. It’s also the first such win for jockey, J R Velazquez. The time of the win was 1:47.84, and that is the new record for the Haskell! Let’s look at it!

(½ Mile- :47.57)- As the race begins, The Spaniard does what has made him successful in the past, and jumps out to the early lead for Big Jd Racing. Ride Or Die provides an initial challenge out of the gate for Delta Farms, but by the time they make their way around the turn, he has dropped back to the middle of the back. Blindfold, out of Mb Stables, was also a good starter and runs in the second position. The third place horse here is Blindfold’s stablemate, Centerpiece, who was not quick out of the gate, but ran around the opening turn as if it was the final turn and would join the top two at the front. Charleys Agent runs fourth, two lengths from the lead, with Ride Or Die settling in to this outside. Our eventual winner Pretty Ferro is sixth, and is three wide around the turn. He is in a good potential lane here, and just three and a half lengths from the front, so trainer Estero Farms had to like what he saw here. Mist Maker, form Crocker Ggs, was in striking range as well. Fox News (D J C Racing Stables), Regal Decision (Nakamura Stables), and Splash Mountain (John Henry) are the early trailers.

(3/4 Mile- 1:11.14)- Down the backstretch, The Spaniard finds himself in a duel with Blindfold at the front end. These two go at each other pretty good, and end up pulling away from Centerpiece by a length and a half into the turn. Ride Or Die maintains his position just off the lead, while Pretty Ferro seems to be waiting for his time to strike. He is comfortably just three lengths back at this point. Meanwhile, Charleys Agent was losing ground, and was about to be passed next by Mist Maker, who seemed for the moment to be in fine shape for his own run. Fox News and Regal Decision still ran together, with the latter starting show interest in advancement. Splash Mountain looked to be struggling at the back.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- The exciting battle at the front between The Spaniard and Blindfold did not let up during the turn, and the two of them were still running well entering the stretch. It was beginning to look like, at this point anyway, that Blindfold would be the better of the two. Meanwhile, Pretty Ferro was methodically going about his business the way in which we would expect from a truly special horse. He was still four wide, so it was not an ideal trip, but he was continuing to gain. We are used to him shining in the stretch, and with just a length and half to make up now, it was looking pretty good for him. Ride Or Die was trying to hang on, and caught Centerpiece who was not as strong today as he was in the KYD. Further back, Mist Maker was lacking stretch response, but both Regal Decision and Fox News were making their late bid. They still ran together, but had a lot of work to do with four and a half lengths to make up on the leaders, and three to make up on Pretty Ferro. Charleys Agent and Splash Mountain were becoming non factors.

(Finish- 1:47.84)- Pretty Ferro would not disappoint anyone in the stretch. He showed that powerful drive, and it didn’t matter that he was in an outer lane, he had a worse trip in the KYD and still made it work. For a moment, Blindfold looked like he could be the winner, but in the dying moments he looked to fatigue, thus allowing The Spaniard, who kept with it the whole way, to finish second. Great job by that one as well. Blindford remains third, holding off a valiant bid by Regal Decision. Ride Or Die ran well on the rail to be fifth, a head in front of sixth place Fox News. Centerpiece dropped to seventh, while Mist Maker was flat today in eighth. Splash Mountain only was able to pass the worn out Charleys Agent.

About The Winner- Pretty Ferro, trained by Estero Farms, and ridden by J R Velazquez, is a three year old gelding by Ferro, and is out of Pretty One. He was bred in Ontario as a second quarter two year old by Estero Farms, the only trainer for which he has ever known. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his eighth in 13 starts, his sixth stake win, and fifth graded win. It’s the third Grade 1 win for the KYD victor. His career earnings are now $3,094.960.

Track: Fast
Time: :47²  1:11   1:35²  1:47⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 6 – 7 Paid 28.10
$1 Trifecta: 6 – 7 – 3 Paid 114.10

Scratched: None

Winner Picked by NS

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES