The Peter Pan (Grade 3)- $350.000 Purse
BEL- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
May 12, 2018

There were twelve that were initially entered into the Peter Pan, but Gdp Inc would scratch Di Pantera pretty early on, and he would actually race where the weather was a lot better today. Due to the rain leaving the track muddy, we had several scratches, including our pick to win, What Have You Done. Dastardly Havoc and Tables Stakes would also decide to look elsewhere, leaving us with just eight runners. Now, Rumble’s having drawn the 11 post did not seem to be all that bad with the shorter field. He would not have much difficulty in the mud, stalking the pace before excelling in the stretch to pick up his second consecutive win. The proud winning trainer is D J C Racing Stables, as he wins the race for the first time. Aboard was I Ortiz Jr, who’s becoming Rumble’s regular rider now, and he also wins his first Peter Pan. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:51.89, let’s take a look at it!

(½ Mile- :48.39)- Wild Fame, made the post-time favorite for the race, is the quickest of them all out of the gate, and has little trouble jumping out to a two length advantage for his trainer, Estero Farms. There was no one showing a desire to run with him, and initially there were three that chose to talk. The main two here were Stainless Metal from John Henry, and Minutes Hand, for Fractious. Running with them a little while in the backstretch was Diablo Diablo’s Achilles, but J L Ortiz had second thoughts about that midway through and dropped him back. Our eventual winner, Rumble, Was behind the stalkers for D J C Racing Stables, and as the field approached the turn, I Ortiz Jr moved him up a bit to now be three wide for second, just to the outside Minutes Hand. He had been running with Bad English (Maxmillion Farm) and Sacred Sacrifice (Fractious), but neither of them looked to move forward when Rumble did. At the back, Maniaco del Controll looked sluggish, for Threshold.

(3/4 Mile- 1:11.06)- Wild Fame continues to lead the way as the field rounds the turn. The advantage is two, but the intentions of Rumble are becoming a lot more clear now. He was having a great run while three wide, and while Stainless Metal and Minutes Hand continued to run well, Rumble made it into second rather easily. A little further back, Sacred Sacrifice was positioning himself for a move to split horses, it appeared, towards the top of the stretch while Bad English looked to follow Rumble. Achilles was five and a half back, but riding the rail, and Maniaco del Controll still trailed.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Moving around the turn, Rumble gradually chipped away at the advantage that Wild Fame had, and was prepared to make the pass for the lead. While Wild Fame did not look like he’d put up a fight, Stainless Metal was starting to look real good. Perhaps, J J Castellano waited just a second or two too late to get him going, because once Rumble inched slightly in front of him, he began to match his stride. As he was on the rail, he had a great shot here. Minutes Hand was falling back, and Sacred Sacrifice wanted to split horses, but remained a length behind Stainless Metal. Achilles was gearing up well and looking good on the rail, and had three lengths to make up. The distance was the same for Bad English but he was not looking quite as strong. Maniaco del Controll had the best seat in the house to watch all the action.

(Finish- 1:51.89)- In the mud, Rumble lived up to his name and grinded out the victory in the stretch. It turned out to be a little easier then anticipated for him as Stainless Metal seemed to come up a little flat when it was time to go. That was not the case for Rumble, who was gritty and workmanlike in picking up the win. Instead of running with the winner, Stainless Metal was narrowly holding on for second over Sacred Sacrifice, who really didn’t make an overly ambitious charge, either. The pack gets close together, and the steady run of Achilles allows him to pick up the fourth place check by holding off Bad English and Wild Fame. Minutes Hand and Maniaco del Controll take the final two spots.

About The Winner- Rumble, trained by D J C Racing Stables, and ridden to victory by I Ortiz Jr, is a three year old colt by Mr Creepy, and out of Earthquake. He was bred in New York as a yearling by D J C Racing Stables, and they have been together throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his fourth in eight starts, his second stake win, and first graded win. His career earnings are now $394.380.

Track: Muddy
Time: :48¹  1:13   1:38³  1:51⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 11 – 6 Paid 44.60
$1 Trifecta: 11 – 6 – 5 Paid 158.70

Scratched: What Have You Done, Di Pantera, Dastardly Havoc(L), Table Stakes(L)

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES