The Davis Stakes (KYD) (Grade 3)- $250.000 Purse
TAM- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
February 9, 2019

Coming into the Davis Stakes, Ranger was one of the fastest workers at a mile in the game. His work towards the end of 2018 allowed him to finish off that year with the distinction of being the fastest two year old at a mile, with no wic’s, and that was only equaled as of a couple days ago. While the works were good, the time was now for Ranger to establish himself as one of the top threats in the TC chase. He has looked promising to this point, and after a tight battle with Not To Be Denied, it is Ranger picking up the win. The winning trainer is Aer Stables, and it is his first win in the stake. Aboard the winner, E Esquivel also became a first time winner. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:41.92. Let’s take a look!

(1/4 Mile- :24.10)- Not To Denied breaks sharply from the starting gate and immediately jumps out to a length lead for trainer D J C Racing Stables. The bigger lead would be short lived, though, as when they entered turn, he had some company to this outside. Three of them closed the gap, but it would be Topside, from Mb Stables, pulling within half a length when reaching the quarter mile mark. In between them, both Estero Farms’ Chiozza and Nakamura Stables’ Brazen Deception were within half a length as well. After a length, there is a four wide group which includes our eventual winner, Ranger, from Aer Stables, running in the second lane behind Chiozza. Born To Laff, from Joshua Stables, has the rail here, and running to in the two outer lanes are Traffic Trouble (Joshua Stables), and Diddy Doodat (TwinTowersRacing). Trailing is a group of three also running side by side. From inside to outside, its Nav Man (Aml Racing), Courageous Tantra (Paradise Stable), and Undisputed (John Henry).

(½ Mile- :47.80)- We see some shuffling around of the running order during the second quarter of the race. The leader is now Topside, who looks to pick up the pace a little here. He opens up to an uncontested one length lead during the backstretch run. Chiozza and Brazen Deception look comfortable as they stalk the leader while running side by side. Not To Be Denied would back off a bit, though, and was now three lengths back, and running fifth. To her outside, moving a head in front of him would be Diddy Doodat. Ranger is now in the next group of horses, and is four and a half lengths back, however, he has a clear lane in front of him if he wished to utilize that at this point. He was between the Joshua Stables teammates of Born To Laff and Traffic Trouble. Still at the back would be Nav Man, Courageous Tantra, and Undisputed. Undisputed looked like he was considering an advance, soon, at this point.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Topside continues to hold the top spot as they move around the turn. His form seems good at this point, but as they approach the exit of the turn, it is pretty clear that he is about to be passed. Brazen Deception is the first one to go by, doing so to his outside. Topside clings to second, but Chiozza is also going by, and an nice opening sets up just to Topside’s outside for Not To Be Denied to come on through. They were looking like some of the stronger contenders. The other major challenger here, naturally, would be Ranger. While he could have made his move a little earlier, E Esquivel was patient with him, and waited until the exit of the turn. He’d have to do it with a five wide move, however. Born To Laff had dibs on the lane now that he could have used earlier, and Diddy Doodat was riding steady with the front runners, but not really making a move to pass any of them. So, our fast worker, Ranger, had to show a little track awareness too, and he passed the test with flying colors. His deficit now was approximately two lengths, and there was plenty of time. Behind him, Nav Man, Undisputed, Courageous Tantra, and Traffic Trouble were looking like non-factors.

(Finish- 1:41.92)- Most of the horses that Ranger needed to pass in the stretch were running well themselves, so this would not be an easy task. With about 0.7F to go, there were seven of them spread out across the track each with a chance to win, a type of wall that we often see in races like this. Emerging from the wall as the top challengers were Ranger and Not To Be Denied, and each of them ran well to the wire and had a finish that their trainer should be happy with. At the wire, it was Ranger, denying Not To Be Denied by a nose. Born To Laff ran a good looking third, just ahead of a dead heat for fourth between Chiozza and Brazen Deception. Topside had some fight and finished 6th. All of those horses had a winning effort in their own ways, in my opinion. Seventh place Diddy Doodat also ran well to the wire, and perhaps will be a bigger force in longer races. Courageous Tantra and Nav Man got up to the pack, but ran out of time. Only Undisputed and Traffic Trouble had a poor race.

About The Winner- Ranger, trained by Aer Stables, and ridden to victory by E Esquivel, is a three year old gelding by Forestry, and is out of Woke Up Dreamin. He was bred in California by Jediminds Stable as a second quarter two year old, and was acquired by Aer Stables when he was still unraced in private sales for $40.000 in August 2018. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his third in five starts, his second stake win, and first graded win. His career earnings are now $273.800.

Track: Fast
Time: :24   :47⁴  1:11²  1:41⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 2 – 7 Paid 33.70
$1 Trifecta: 2 – 7 – 1 Paid 747.50

Scratched: None

Winner and Exacta Picked By NS

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES