RP Springboard Mile [KYD]
1 Mile Dirt Stake Purse $300.000 Open 2 Year Olds.
As we round the season out there is nothing better than a race like this, in its result and running it seemed to sum up the season perfectly. Why, you may ask? Well, I will indulge myself at the end of the year with an explanation as to my opening statement which you are more than welcome to ignore and move on to the result.
Firstly, we had a BC champion that came into this off the back of two grade one wins, a record far in advance of any other runner. What happened? Well, he traveled 4 wide the entire trip and his race was over by halfway and he ended up ninth. That isn’t unusual in real life, but we see so often that form only stands up for the race before here and a great win can be followed by a poor effort, and it can very be often explained by a very poor AI decision.
Secondly, we had 3 horses dead heat for fourth. Dead heats and close finishes have become normal throughout the year here and this one saw the third commonality in that the three horses that finished fourth all recorded a 50% loss to their entry fee which is a bittersweet pill to swallow after running so well and beating a BC winner.
Fourthly, we saw yet another example that surface and trip mean very little as the winner, who was a grade three sprinting winner on turf, had no trouble in both his first route race and first dirt win outside his narrow maiden win.
And lastly, we saw a 46 and 1 half mile which ensured that the back horses would swap places with the front horses, it was just a matter of which ones were going to get there in time.
Now, that all can be taken as a negative or positive view of the game. On the one hand we had an exciting finish, a deserving winner from a great supporter of the game in Riggins Racing and over half the field taking home a little piece of the purse. On the other of course we have a story that has been told many times and like the real-life version of this game, it can lead to much head slapping and confusion. Whichever camp you fall into, let’s celebrate the first six home, here is how they did it:
1st Down To Earth Riggins Racing Lopez P
The last three races have seen some rough treatment from the Draw monster for this son of Chase The Tail Lights, but he has won two of them which is far better than most. This win came with a perfect AI ride from Lopez sitting off the strong pace and launching a late challenge when pulled out into the perfect spot. With nearly $1,000.000 in prize money already he has catapulted his way from being a promising turf sprinter into a TC chance with very high hopes. Bought for $99.000 pre-race it is clear the trainer had high hopes, although those hopes didn’t look like materializing until they took the gamble to geld and since then the magic operation has seen him win four of his last five.
2nd Westerly Invasion Nakamura Stables Bejarano R
When this one was beaten in a lowly BTP one win allowance after winning a free track maiden just a few months ago you would’ve been excused if you said this horse would never run in a stakes race. However, as we have learned in the last few years there is no such thing as a class system at HRP and a race at BTP can be as tough as a stakes race so his second place here surprised less people than it should have. After his impressive win at WO when stepped up in trip, a run like this was always possible and he did terrifically well to get within a half-length of the win. Home bred by the top trainer he will certainly be going for those big TC qualifiers as we approach the 2026 season, and it will be an exciting Christmas break for the duo.
3rd Concession Speech Noblepark Pennington F
Stalked his last two wins but today, probably thanks to the draw and the fast pace, elected to fall back to last for much of the race. Still last with two furlongs to run he caught everyone’s attention with a flying finish which saw him grab third on the line. In real life this would be an eye catching run that would have many reaching for their black book and that is still the case here at HRP, but these types of runs have to be taken with just a little caution at HRP and he will have to prove he can run the Derby trip before the trainer can get really excited about a possible KYD run.
4th= Sabbath Mb Stables Gutierrez Mario
Got away well and held the rail well which was the first objective. Unfortunately, the second objective was thwarted in part by the horse he would end up dead heating with as he had to work really hard through the half mile to hold his on speed position. The question from the two furlong out pole was how much did he have left and, in the end, and it was a well told story, he didn’t have enough to fight off the late challengers. In the end he had to settle for a share of fourth and maybe will be back to shorter trips in the future.
4th= Lucky Tactics Mb Stables Santana R Jr 11.50 4nk 1:35.54
Nothing worse than making a 50% loss for fourth than doing it twice as the two stable runners finished locked together in fourth. This one had chosen the right tactics but, in the end, didn’t get the run at the right time and ran on for fourth without really getting near the first three. A solid effort but his form figures are turning into a bit of a head scratcher as to where he will go next.
4th= Hunter Family Racing Zayas E J 8.05 4nk 1:35.54
Part of the speed battle that caused the fast early pace. It was clear from his maiden win last time that the front was where he was going to fare best, but the inside horses never gave up the rail and from there it was a matter of how long he would keep going. This was a decent effort considering his inexperience at this level and whilst the financial loss will hurt the fact that he was right up with some good juveniles will give the stable some hope for his future.
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded