Phoenix (Grade 2) (BC)- $250.000 Purse
KEE- For Three Year Olds and Upward
Six Furlongs on the Dirt
October 8, 2021
Shifu Tan made his debut for Fractious on Friday following two disappointing races at SAR. The new trainer could not have asked for anything more than what he received from his new acquisition as the gelding picked up the win in the Phoenix. It was a great day for longshots with Shifu Tan going off at odds of 14/1, and the runner up, Papa Nature being a 76/1 choice on the board. On the flip side, the top two betting choices ended up taking the last two finishing positions. I guess Tallmadge Star’s last race wasn’t a throw out, after all. As for Shifu Tan, congratulations go out to Fractious as he wins this race for the first time. Jockey A Cedillo is also a first timer. The winning time would be 1:08.41, the second fastest time in the race’s history. Let’s take a look!
(¼ Mile- :22.43)- Angelsinheaven breaks the quickest out of the starting gate, for Angelos Stable, but it would be Gdp Inc’s On The Turning Away grabbing the lead after the first two furlongs. Running right there with these two would be Golden Treasure, for Mb Stables. After the first three, there are three stalkers, and in the outside lane of these, Settle The Score Vr is a head in front for John Henry, with Our Athletes’ Tallmadge Star on the rail and the Night Rider Stables trained Papa Nature in between them. Next up, and running all by himself is our eventual winner out of Fractious, Shifu Tan and he elects to take the lane right behind Papa Nature. The remaining horses are four wide, and from inside to outside, they consist of, Funny Cide (Iolaus Racing), In Captivity (Mb Stables), Dragonheart Hanny (Jive Inc.), and Geronimo (Nakamura Stables).
(½ Mile- :44.98, Top of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- The front three continue to lead the field as we move around the turn, with On The Turning Away having a half length lead over both Golden Treasure and Angelisinheaven. About two lengths behind them, both Papa Nature and Settle The Score Vr continue to follow but neither has made a push for the lead. Tallmadge Star would hear the groans of the crowd as he began to bow out of it early. Meanwhile, Shifu Tan still trailed by about four, but he had a nice lane to come through when he was ready to make his move. Dragonheart Hanny was looking the best of the four that had been trailing.
(Finish- 1:08.41)- It’s an all new race as we enter the stretch, as two of the three pace setters cannot do anything with the runs that would be coming at them. First, it looked like Papa Nature would be in the best position to take the lead, but as good as he would, the explosive burst of Shifu Tan would be even better. He would catch up to Papa Nature pretty quickly as they both split the early front three. In the final half furlong, this race was pretty much over as Shifu Tan would not let up, getting the big victory in his Fractious debut. Papa Nature will take second, himself looking good late. Third goes to Golden Treasure, who barely hangs on over the late running Dragonheart Hanny. Angelsinheaven and On The Turning Away take fifth and sixth while Settle The Score Vr settles for seventh. Rounding it out, it’s Funny Cide, Geronimo, In Captivity, and Tallmadge Star.
About The Winner- Shifu Tan, trained by Fractious and ridden to victory by A Cedillo, is a three year old gelding by Decima and is out of Marley Mcmarbleface. He was bred as a third quarter two year old by Keikowin Racing in California, and was acquired by Fractious on September 24th for $280.000 in private sales. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his fourth in 11 starts, his second stake win and first graded win. His career earnings improve to $387.400.
Track: Fast
Time: :222 :444 :563 1:082
$2 Mutuel Prices:
$1 Exacta: 6 – 7 Paid 2,967.30
$1 Trifecta: 6 – 7 – 2 Paid 1,595.50
Scratched: Twilight Flame
— NS
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES
