The Remsen (Grade 2)- $250.000 Purse
AQU- For Two Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
December 1, 2018

The rains came on Saturday at the Big A, and the race track would have to be listed as muddy for the day’s card. There were only two horses in the field that had run on an off track. One of them was Bo Knows, who twice has been on a track listed as good. Into The Light was really the only who knew it wet like it was today, having run on a sloppy surface. Therefore, this would certainly play a factor in the outcome of the race as we awaited to see who would step it up here. Sport Guide, who was among our picks, would be the best in the mud today, as the triple ideal Sport Guide gelding stepped up and delivered. I thought he might be a little more of a longshot here, but he actually went off as the second choice. The winning trainer is Estero Farms, as yet another promising young winner is part of his stable. It’s his first win in the stake, and it is for jockey C J Lanerie as well. The time of the race in the mud was 1:52.36. Let’s take a look!

(½ Mile- :49.24)- Three of them get off to a good start right out of the gate, but only one of them continues to be at the front at the time of reaching half a mile. That horse would be Zalim, the longshot from D J C Racing Stables. Initially running with were Nothing To Hide, from Mb Stables, and his stablemate, Into The Light. However both of them had no intention of staying at the front, and were restrained by the time they hit the first turn. As they dropped, then eventually Bo Knows, from Smokey Stover, went up to join him on the front end. Zalim and Bo Knows run side by side around the first time, leading by two lengths over third place Viper Command, out of Aer Stables, who was running by himself at this point. World Turning (Alydar Stables) was a length behind him, and another length to the remaining five horses, who were five wide across the track. The outer lane belonged to our eventual winner Sport Guide, from Estero Farms. Post time favorite Commanding Bee (Serenity Stables) and Not To Be Denied (D J C Racing Stables) were back there with Nothing To Hide and Into The Light.

(3/4 Mile- 1:13.79)- Heading down the backstretch, Bo Knows pulls away from Zalim and easily opens up by a length and a half over his rival. This is not always a part of the race where we see a key move of the race, but Sport Guide was not just going to keep his lane over the backstretch and wait until later to advance. C J Lanerie urged him forward as they neared the turn, and Sport Guide responded. This would allow him to move up to be in a three-wide battle for third place, cutting the deficit to the leader to three lengths. World Turning and Viper Command were to his inside. The rest of the field, now four of them, are still running four wide, and trailing the front runner by five lengths.

(Top OF Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Bo Knows seems to be comfortable in the mud, handling the turn well, and emerging at the top of the stretch with the same length and a half advantage. However, it is a new horse in that second position, as Sport Guide continued his progress while running four wide around the turn, and methodically getting closer to the front. World Turning had also gained on the leader, and was even with Sport Guide at this point. Zalim was beginning to drop pack, as though who had been running at the back all side by side began to get closer. There was not one horse out of this group that was looking better then the others right now, but the one with the clearest lane would be Commanding Bee, as he could easily split World Turning and Sport Guide if he had the lengths underneath him to do so. Not To Be Denied was in a tough spot here, as he trailed the field.

(Finish- 1:52.36)- In the stretch, Sport Guide continued to inch closer to Bo Knows with every stride, and the 86/1 longshot, World Turning was matching those strides until the waning moments. As we got closer to the wire, Sport Guide simply had more power in his kick then his rivals, and goes on to a win of just about a length. Bo Knows barely holds off World Turning for third, but the longshot is able to ensure a high-priced trifecta. These three were the class of the field, and no one else was a threat for the win. Commanding Bee would be a little better then Into The Light in order to pick up the fourth place check. Not To Be Denied, Nothing To Hide, Viper Command, and Zalim either never got involved or tired out.

About The Winner- Sport Guide, trained by Estero Farms, and ridden to victory be C J Lanerie, is a two year old gelding by Sport Gemini and is out of But Wait Theres More. He was bred in the great breeding state of Pennsylvania by Aml Racing as a first quarter two year old, and was acquired by Estero Farms, via Jader Stable, in private sales in September for $400.000. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his second in six starts, and is his first stake win of any sort. His career earnings are now $186.000.

Track: Muddy
Time: :49¹  1:13³  1:39¹  1:52¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 7 – 9 Paid 19.30
$1 Trifecta: 7 – 9 – 5 Paid 1,811.50

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES