Lecomte Stakes (Grade 3) (KYD)- $200.000 Purse
FG- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
January 16, 2021
Within our virtual racing world, it is a rite of passage that Mb Stables will have several horses on the TC trail. In the Lecomte Stakes, we had a chance to see another one as Proud Crown would prevail to pick up his first graded stake victory and firmly cement himself on the radar of KYD hopefuls. He has not been with Mb Stables long, having been picked up by the trainer for $250.000 in October just a couple weeks after he broke his maiden at MTH, showing that Mb has a great eye for potential, and is willing to spend what it takes to acquire him. Proud Crown is now 2-for-3 with his new owner, and a name we can expect to see often over the next few months as the KYD chase heats up. Mb Stables is also no stranger to the winners circle of the Lecomte, earning his fourth win in the race, all coming since 2016. Aboard the winner was T Gaffalione, and it’s his second win in the race. He won last year as well Notorious Temper, and Night Rider Stables. Congratulations to the winners! Also, I want to throw a shout out to S X Bridgmohan, who was aboard second place Oleg. Had he won this race, it would have been his seventh Lecomte win. The time of the race was 1:41.93. We can’t compare that time to anything, because it is only the second time the race has been run at this distance, and the last time it was run in the mud. Let’s take a look at it!
(¼ Mile- :23.26)- On the outside, Judicial Decision bursts out of the gate and jumps out to the initial lead for Nakamura Stables. He was making the most of being in the race, having got in off the also eligible list when Get Set Gone was scratched. Speaking of scratches, No Change was also scratched. Judicial Decision did concede the lead to Smokey Stover’s Breath Of The WIld just prior to hitting the quarter mile mark. These two opened up about a 2-3 lengths advantage over their closest pursuers, which would be Violative, hoping to score a big win for La Rosa Stables, and our eventual winner, Proud Crown, from Mb Stables. Proud Crown was in a comfortable spot right here, simply riding the rail. About a length and a half back, there would be a group of three, with Caleb Toothpaste (Night Rider Stables) having a head in front of Familiar Moon (John Henry) to his inside and Creepy Havoc (Estero Farms) on his outside. Accountant (D J C Racing Stables) was a length further back but thinking about making it four wide here. Oleg (Arindel) was on his outside while Archduke Charles (Mb Stables) was nearby on the rail. It was even further back to Dreams Of Men (Serenity Stables).
(½ Mile- :46.87)- Breath Of The Wild continued to show the way, leading the field down the backstretch and into the turn, pulling a length in front of Judicial Decision. During this segment, it was interesting to watch Oleg, a horse that had been near the back of the field originally, but using his position in the fifth lane to pass many of his rivals. By the time they were ready to enter the turn, Oleg had advanced to the third position, even being a head in front of Proud Crown, who continued to patiently hold his line on the rail. Violative was in between them still, and in a good striking position right here. Creepy Havoc, Familiar Moon, and Caleb Toothpaste still ran in the middle of the field, while Accountant opted to not run four wide after all and actually had moved over to the rail at this point. Dreams Of Men was still two lengths behind his closest competitor.
(Top Of The Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- Breath Of The Wild continues to lead this field, and still seems game while on the front end. His lead is a length, and they are lined up four wide behind him, but Breath Of The Wild looked like he would not make it easy. For Oleg, being on the far outside during the turn would derail his progress, but he was still part of this four wide group. The position on the track was far better for Proud Crown, who had much less ground to maneuver on the rail, and he would take over the second spot with an opening to come right on through for the stretch. Judicial Decision was hanging on in the fourth position, while Violative was still in the mix, but needing a little more to outrun the rivals that were near him. Familiar Moon would swing to the rail on exit of the turn, making his strategy be to follow Proud Crown through. Others were beginning to run out of time, and if you were waiting for a frantic close from Dreams Of Men in the way that he won his last race, that simply was not about to happen here.
(Finish- 1:41.93)- With about a furlong to go, Proud Crown would complete the pass for the lead, and now we would wonder if he could hold off the other rivals in the field. That would not be a problem, as he would gamely run to the wire, and pick up the win by about a length over second place Oleg. Between those two, definitely a case to consider in the future that one had a smooth rail trip and the other was 5-6 wide for nearly the entire race. Breath Of The Wild looked like he might hold on for third, but a late push by Familiar Moon would see that one nip him in a photo for show. Frontrunners Judicial Decision and Violative hold for fifth and sixth, and Accountant is seventh. That may be the cutoff line between a good or respectable race and not looking as good. Rounding out the order is Archduke Charles, Caleb Toothpaste, Creepy Havoc, and Dreams Of Men.
About The Winner– Proud Crown, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by T Gaffalione, is a three year old gelding by Crown Gold and is out of Step Proud. He was bred in Florida as a yearling by Tiratzo and acquired by Mb Stables for $250.000 in private sales last October. The win is his third in seven starts, his second stake win and first graded win. Congratulations to the connections! His career earnings are now $234.000.
Track: Fast
Time: :231 :464 1:103 1:414
$2 Mutuel Prices:
$1 Exacta: 1 – 10 Paid 57.90
$1 Trifecta: 1 – 10 – 2 Paid 783.00
Scratched: Bespoke, Charley Buzz, Dematria, Get Set Gone, No Change(L)
— NS
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES
