April 29, 2016

Sent off at the longest shot in a small field of five, Shoot And Hope outran both his odds and his rivals to score an improbable win in the Affirmed Success at BEL on Friday afternoon, as the Spring kicked off on the road to the BEL and beyond. Successful in his last start over the surface way back in October 2014, the five-year-old son of A P Hope returned to the main track after some turf events and scored his ninth career win, while pushing his earning past $550.000 from 28 career starts.

Angelic General burst from the gate in the Affirmed Success and quickly established the lead as Shoot And Hope dropped back but Claim Your Prize came between rivals to open up into the far turn with everyone finding a suitable seat. The first quarter flashed up in a modest 23.11 with the leader two-lengths to the good from Clear Blue along the rail and Angelic General in third but by the time the field hit the head of the lane, the backfield was making their move with Privilege angling into the three-wide path. A quickening half-mile in 45.90 kept everyone honest and while Clear Blue failed to go on, Angelic General did and he engaged Claim Your Prize with Privilege closing in third and Shoot And Hope trying to rally from last. The leader got overwhelemed by the closers inside the final 1/16 and in a truly blanket finish, Shoot And Hope got his nostril on the wire first out wide with Privilege and Angelic General dead-heating for second, Claim Your Prize a tiring fourth and Clear Blue rounding out the field after lacking any late momentum.

On Friday, Shoot And Hope proved that the turf-to-dirt can be extremely effective with a last gasp victory in the Affirmed Success, his first stakes score since the Hudson over this same course and fourth added-money score overall. Although he could step up in class for a race like the Grade II True North Handicap, the Barker Handicap at FL against NY-breds seems logical for a gelding who might not be what he once was but still knows how to win.

Congratulations goes out to owner Maxmillion Farm and their five-year-old gelding Shoot And Hope, a last-to-first winner of the Affirmed Success at BEL!

Prediction                           Angelic General / Shoot And Hope / Clear Blue

Winner                                Shoot And Hope

                                               Five-year-old black gelding

                                               A P Hope-Assembly Shot (General Assembly)

Owner                                 Maxmillion Farm

Time                                     23.11, 45.90, 57.58, 1:09.33

Overall

Shoot And Hope                17.10 broke slow, wide into lane, just up

Privilege (DH)                    5.55 behind rivals, angled wide, outfinished

Angelic General (DH)     *1.15 stalked, engaged leader, caught late

Claim Your Prize                1.65 rushed forward, failed to menace

Clear Blue                            6.25 pressed, weakened

Triple T Racing 🙂

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded