Seaway Stakes – Grade III

Flyingbolt is a super consistent sort and got some reward for that consistency here with a comprehensive win. Taking her record to 17 from 40 starts she is approaching the $1000.000 mark in prize money, and few do more to deserve that accolade. Miss Hennessy went on pace and just didn’t have a finish left in her legs when challenged but with a 7 from 12 record in a light career she is making up to a solid stakes sort. The three-year-old Vanessa was also on that pace, and she too suffered late, but this effort will encourage the other three-year-olds that the improvement curve is moving back towards them as the season wears on.

The Sapling Stakes

Rolling Pin showed his true form today on a day when the closers were getting their timing right. Ridden well off the solid pace, he ran through the line for a very respectable 1.35 and 2 win by a neck and looks the type that will thrive as they stretch out. New York tried to make all to preserve his unbeaten record, but the extra three furlongs sapped his finish today and he just gave way in the shadows of the post. Third went to Cherokee Revolution who stalked the leader but like the runner up was vulnerable late off a solid pace.

OBrien Stakes – Grade II [BC]

Tehran may have won most of his races over longer trips but today he was a sharp as a knife to show the field a clean pair of heels for the whole seven furlongs trip. The thing I find most difficult at HRP is the ability of good routers to sprint and vice versa but we have to ask after a 57 and 1 work and now this comprehensive sprinting display whether this was more of a sprinter that just happened to be running over further. Either way this was a brilliant display of sprinting which will put him into the BC where he will hope to do better than his very close third in the BC Mile last year. After this effort the question will be sprint or mile. Adjudication ran well above his weight and was taking ground off the winner in the end, clearly improving he ran a great race today, but his year may come next year when he reaches the magic age of five. Knoblauch was back in third and he too ran very nicely coming on strong at the end from a difficult gate, he looks to be peaking as a five-year-old.

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES