The Diarmida (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
GP- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and Three Eighths on the Inner Turf
February 27, 2021
Raj Action Packed pulled off the win in The Diarmida, and with that victory he adds his name to a list of horses that only contains Bronze Sabre and Techfluence. That would be the horses that have won this race in two consecutive years, a fantastic achievement considering he topped the reigning Horse of The Year, Iron Nation, to do so. Techfluence was the winner in 2018 and 2019, so the double of Raj Action Packed immediately follows that. None of those horses were eight years old when they won, though. Arindel is the winning trainer with this horse that he claimed for $25.000 in July 2019. Perhaps Night Rider Stables felt his gelding was done or approaching the end of his career, but Raj Action Packed continues to achieve with his second straight graded win to open up 2021. Arindel is a two time winner now, and jockey E Jaramillo wins for the first time. Congratulations! The race was run in 2:12.11, slower than recent years, but all that was needed. Let’s take a look!
(½ Mile- :49.82) A group of four breaks out of the starting gate quickest, and our eventual winner, Arindel’s Raj Action Packed is a part of it, running in the third lane. On the rail, Workload, broke well for Mb Stables, as did Long Term Deal, another Arindel horse, who is running between them. Part of the mix in the fourth lane is Diablo Diablo’s So Lonely, early on. As they hit the wire for the first time, Raj Action Packed and Long Term Deal have a neck in front of Workload, but So Lonely has dropped back. Chayse, from Crocker Ggs, has moved into the fourth position now with Iron Nation in fifth, a length and a half behind the leaders for Nakamura Stables. So Lonely is next, then Hammerfest (Smokey Stover) towards the rail. Then it’s Wired Up (Rampage Stable), Stallsome (Maxmillion Farm), and World In Changes (TwinTowersRacing). Further back, a dismal race is underway for Better Back Off (BomBay Stables).
(¾ Mile- 1:13.51)- As we move around our second turn, it is still the Arindel entries leading the way with Workload on the rail. It seems as though these two are just a little better then Workload within a turn, but then Workload rejoins them hitting the straightaway. Chayse and Iron Nation assume stalking positions, with the alignment of the rest of the field similar. Let’s move on, then.
(Top OF Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Raj Action Packed handles the backstretch brilliantly, and takes almost a full length lead over his stablemate once they hit the turn. Within the race’s final turn, Raj Action Packed looks like a horse that has won this before, continuing to maintain his stride and hitting the home stretch with a half length lead. In this turn, Workload was a little better, and takes over the second position from Long Term Deal. Iron Nation was starting to lurk as a threat behind them, and was about a length back. There was nothing to block him, so the stage was set for the Horse of The Year to show what he is made of and pick up this win. Hammerfest and Chayse were close enough to make a move, and So Lonely was getting back into it. The others would have to make a big close to pull off the win.
(Finish- 2:12.11)- In the stretch, Raj Action Packed did not let up, and continued to keep his stride. This was all he needed to do, and he completes this race much like he did the last one, with a trip to the winners circle. In the dying moments, Workload got closer and may have made Arindel take a deep breath for a moment, but that one settles for second, with Long Term Deal also running well to the end, finishing third. Seems like they ran this way the whole race. Iron Nation was unable to get involved, and runs fourth, with Chayse, Hammerfest, and So Lonely. Stallsome, Wired Up, and World In Changes round it out. Wait, there was one more. I’m happy to report that Better Back Off did eventually finish, as well.
About The Winner- Raj Action Packed, trained by Arindel and ridden to victory by E Jaramillo, is an eight year old gelding by the late Iron Chito, and is out of Black Heart. He was bred by Night Rider Stables in New York as a first quarter two year old, and acquired by Arindel in June 2019 via a $25.000 claim, winning a shake against one other. Congratulations to the connections! This was his 50th start, his twelfth win and eighth stake win, six of which are graded. His career earnings are now $2,438.540.
Track: Firm
Time: :494 1:132 1:363 2:12
$2 Mutuel Prices:
$1 Exacta: 5 – 1 Paid 307.20
$1 Trifecta: 5 – 1 – 2 Paid 1,502.10
Scratched: None
— NS
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES
