The United Nations (Grade 1)- $300.000 Purse
MTH- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and Three Eighths on the Turf
July 3, 2016

After winning the BC Mile last fall, Sir Tom has continued his run of excellent form running in races of similar conditions.   The United Nations was going to be a lot different as only twice had he gone a distance similar to this, but those races were before he emerged as a BC Champion.   The BC Turf provides a larger purse for its winner then does the BC Mile, and trainer Brave was likely motivated, to some extent, by that when he entered Sir Tom here.  With some strong opposition, Brave got the test he wanted for Sir Tom.  At the end of the race, Sir Tom passed with flying colors and will have his trainer pondering the BC Mile or Turf question a little more.  It is only about four months away now, after all.  It is the first win in the United Nations for Brave, and the second such win for jockey J R Velazquez.  The time of the win was 2:11.92, making it the third quickest edition of the race in its history.  Congratulations to the winners! Let’s look more at it!

1st- 2- Sir Tom (5/1)-  The defending BC Mile champion from Brave got off to good start out of the gate, but would eventually settle into a midpack position about four lengths from the leaders as they moved down the frontstretch for the first time.   He would stay here around the opening turn, but in the backstretch he would begin to inch closer and closer to the leaders with every stride.  By the time they were ready to begin round the final turn, Sir Tom was running alongside Desolation Island and within a length and a half of the leading Steel Kelp.  He was showing that he would be stronger in the portion of the race in which the concerns would have been.   Passed Desolation Island rather easily, and at the top of the stretch he was within a length of Steel Kelp.  At this point, Brave saw his horse at its best, because Steel Kelp did not roll over and just let him by.  Sir Tom won while in all out drive and there would be no question that he can get the BC Turf distance based on this effort.  The time of this impressive win was 2:11.92.  Congratulations!  Sir Tom is a five year old horse by the autogen Sir Bart and out of the autogen Kaluha.  Both parents have ex-ex autogen bloodlines.  He was bred in Pennsylvania by Brave as a third quarter two year old and they have been together throughout!

2nd- 9 – Steel Kelp (11/1)-  For some reason, the Serenity Stables gelding was the longest shot on the board, and that was with us making him the pick to win! Right out of the gate, he would show his ability with an alert start from the outside post and getting a length clear in the opening turn.  Ultimately, Desolation Island would run alongside him and they would clear the rest of the field by three.   Fractions were reasonable, with the half in :48.62, 3/4 in 1:12.40, and mile in 1:35.92 as he continued to show the way by about a length.  In the final turn, the hoofsteps from the reigning BC Mile champion were getting louder but Steel Kelp and K J Desormeaux dug down deep and made Sir Tom earn this pass.  This effort may not have gotten the win, but it did solidify second over the closing hard Grande Sournoise.

3rd- 4- Grande Sournoise (7/1)-  Started towards the back of the field for his trainer, Drabfantasy.  On the frontstretch for the first time, he would be 7th, and be five to six lengths from the leaders.  He was in a good spot, though, along the rail and behind Sir Tom, who figured to advance.  Though in the backstretch, he seemed to waste valuable energy playing around with Deputy Dynamite for position, and during this portion Sir Tom pulled away from him by 2 1/2 lengths.   D Moran was able to get him straightened out for the turn, and began to follow Sir Tom through like we figured he always would.  Ran well in stretch and inched the gap to the leader to be a length, but could only settle for 3rd and to leave Drabfantasy to wonder what the result would have been if he just stayed behind Sir Tom on the backstretch.

4th- 1- Desolation Island (9/2)-  The post time favorite from Mb Stables got off to a strong start and battled Steel Kelp while along the rail in the opening stages.  The two of them at one point opened up a three length cushion on the rest of the field in the frontstretch.  Stayed within a length most of the way, but did not have a response when Sir Tom began to move up and made the pass for second, and not much more time went by before Grande Sournoise made a move of his own.  At the top of the stretch, Desolation Island was decent, but that wasn’t good enough to hold off these other challengers.  He just barely hung on at the end for 4th over Charley Sweetback and Vegas Viper.

5th- 6- Charley Sweetback (7/1)-  The Delta Farms entry got off to an average start, and would right in the middle of the field, though three wide, on the first frontstretch trip.  He would uneventfully remain in this position for the first half of the race, and would start to try and move forward when Vegas Viper pulled up alongside him to the outside.  That sparked the best out of Charley Sweetback and the two of them had a good battle between them that nearly resulted in both of them getting by Desolation Island.

6th- 5- Vegas Viper (7/1)-  The gelding of John Henry’s was not interested in the pace and would end up keeping Klepto company at the back early on.  When they hit the finish line the first time, he was 8th, and had seven lengths to make up.  Stayed here until midway into the backstretch, when he moved four-wide to advance, but this led to him being wide around the final turn, with Charley Sweetback providing some gentle nudging to move him over a bit more.  Looked good early in the stretch, but then stabilized to the wire.

7th- 8- Royal Sevens (5/1)-  Sharp out of the gate for Sizing Europe Lodge, but would drop back a few lengths as they moved around the turn.  He would emerge in third as they moved down the frontstretch on the first lap.  Remained steady over the middle portion of the race, but when others who were behind him looked to advance, he was not as interested to move forward.  Dropped to seventh at the top of the stretch, and held it to the wire.

8th- 7- Klepto (10/1)-  It was right to the back from the start for the Wolfs Den gelding and he would be about eight lengths back as they moved into the frontstretch the first time.  He essentially remained in this position the entire race and did not demonstrate an interest to advance at any point in the race.   Only able to pass the equally disappointing Deputy Dynamte.

9th- 3- Deputy Dynamite (8/1)-  The Blushing Meadows entry was towards the front initially, but soon dropped back to be near the back as they moved around the opening turn.  Remained there most of the way, and was nudged a few times by Grande Sournoise at the top of the backstretch.  R Bejarano looked for position around the final turn and at the top of the stretch but did not have the horse underneath him to make it work.

Track: Firm
Time: :48³  1:12²  1:35⁴  2:11⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 2 – 9 Paid 44.40
$1 Trifecta: 2 – 9 – 4 Paid 402.40

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES