July 27, 2016

Three-year-old colt Aggravation held much of the attention going into the Grade II Nijinsky Stakes on Sunday afternoon at sunny WO but he ended getting into trouble turning for home and that opened the door for slight favourite Stormy Passing, who sprinted home to secure his second stakes score of the win and first outright. From the same 2012 crop as Grade I Travers winner Stormy Kg, he has excelled on the turf as the distances have gotten longer and now boasts 8 wins from 15 career starts and more than $300.000 in lifetime earnings for owner C.R. Racing, who earned the fifth Grade II win of their long career.

1 1/8 miles on the WO turf course is actually contested around only one-turn and that allowed Midway (14.65) to sprint forward and take the early lead without losing any ground, from Sri Lanka (11.00) to his outside and a solid Stormy Passing (*2.15) to his inside. As the leader pressed forward and got down to the rail, the only runner to move to the back of the pack was Uncle Charlie (4.60), as the rest of the field remained bunched down the backstretch. Hold The Mach (19.35) rocketed forward to take the lead through the first three-furlongs and passing a half-mile in 46.60, was able to save a little ground outside of Midway with Beav Barley (9.20) now stuck out the widest. Around that sweeping final turn, Aggravation (2.15) started to find his best stride between rivals but got caught behind some tiring frontrunners and the field rolled to six-furlongs in 1:09.85, the race for room was becoming more important. At the head of the towering stretch at WO, Stormy Passing found the room he needed outside of Sri Lanka as Hold The Mach continued to find more and as the six-year-old sprinted clear, Aggravation got a lane to run and started to make his final kick. A desperate scramble in the final furlong saw the two favourites pull clear of the rest and at the wire, the margin was a half-length with Stormy Passing lasting out over a hard-luck Aggravation, with Midway holding for a clear third. Beav Barley and Hold The Mach finished in a dead-heat for fourth with Uncle Charlie making little impression, Sri Lanka tiring and Bad Mouth (12.25) showing little inside after breaking slowly.

Stormy Passing broke his maiden as a five-year-old for only $5.000 and this time last year, had just won a $1.600 allowance at SUD, so it is quite surprising that he has been to climb the ladder enough to become a multiple Graded Stakes winner at an older age. His two triple-digit speed ratings make him one of the top turf horses at HRP right now and there is clearly a fit for him at WO, making the Grade II Sky Classic all the more intriguing for him.

Congratulations goes out to owner C.R. Racing and their six-year-old gelding Stormy Passing, a determined winner of the Grade II Nijinsky Stakes at WO!

Prediction            Aggravation / Stormy Passing / Hold The Mach

Winner                 Stormy Passing

                                Six-year-old bay gelding

                                Stormy-Passing Atonement (Paseo)

Owner                   C.R. Racing

Time                       46.60, 1:09.85, 1:33.52, 1:45.43

Overall

Stormy Passing   *2.15 sat midpack, found room, held late

Aggravation         2.15 stuck behind rivals, found a lane, up for second

Midway                  14.65 set pace, held well late

Beav Barley            9.20 wide run throughout

Hold The Mach    19.35 faded when pressured

Uncle Charlie        4.60 broke slow, no late threat

Sri Lanka                11.00 good speed, faded

Bad Mouth              12.25 no factor

Triple T Racing 🙂

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES