DMR Derby (Grade 2)- $250.000 Purse
DMR- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Turf
September 3, 2017

Very early in his career, Mb Stables was attracted to Striped Maple, acquiring him in private sales for $450.000 from Eastern Equine this January when he still had not accomplished much of anything, other then impressing people in the morning. The works have always been there, but Striped Maple had not been able to translate that into any consistent success on the track. The results were similar for Mb Stables leading up to the race. They were not bad results, but they were not indicative of a horse that once sold for $450.000. On the 18th of August, Mb sent Striped Maple out to work long on the turf, and he came back with an eye-opening work. We certainly noticed it before this race, but his prior lack of being able to translate big works meant that we would have to see it, first. On Sunday, finally, Striped Maple put all the pieces together on race day, and gets the win in the DMR Derby. For trainer Mb Stables, this becomes the next stake to cross of the list of ones that he has not won yet. Jockey A A Gallardo also wins the stake for the first time. Congrats to them! The time of the win was 1:45.80, which is in the middle of the pack overall for the history of the stake. Here’s a look at it.

(½ Mile- :47.21)- Breaking particularly well out of the starting gate was Todays Story, for Mb Stables, but his stablemate and eventual race winner Striped Maple stayed with him for the run leading into the main track. These two ran side by side for a little while, until Todays Story began to pull away from Striped Maple leading into the opening turn. By the time they hit hte top of the stretch, the advantage was a length and a half. Klink, from Langley Farms, also got off to a good start, and kept the Mb Stables’ runners company momentarily before he settled into a position just off the lead, running three lengths off into the backstretch. Hrudey (Axeman) appeared to restrained once they reached the main track and backed way off. He was ahead of only post-time favorite Rookaholic (TwinTowersRacing), who seemed a little sluggish in the early going.

(3/4 Mile- 1:10.38)- This field of five just seemed to all ride out the backstretch portion of the race, so there is nothing different to report here. Todays Story maintained his advantage, although Striped Maple did begin to show his intentions to take the lead as they moved into the turn, he was not quite there yet at this point. Klink remained in the middle of the field with a two and a half length gap to the leaders, while Hrudey and Rookaholic were not showing much as of yet.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.5 Furlongs To Go)- As soon as the field hit the top of the turn, Striped Maple reeled in his stable, and would complete the pass while running to his outside. Todays Story hung in there, and did not simply hand the baton off to his stablemate. At the top of the stretch, he was still within a length. Klink was gradually moving closer, and seemed to be in a good position to get second, though it would take a lot to catch Striped Maple. Hrudey was not on his game tonight, and Rookaholic seemed to be running more like a rookie then a post time favorite.

(Finish- 1:45.80)- In the stretch, and at long last, Striped Maple finally put all the pieces together, showing that he is not just a morning glory, at least not on this day. In the stretch, A A Gallardo made sure that his ride was not going to let him down, and Striped Maple responded by slightly pulling away for a moment. He would never back down, and that was important because Klink did get a good going at the end. For Klink, this was a very impressive run considering the move up in class that he was taking, so job well done by Langley Farms with that one. Todays Story hung tough for a while, but showed signs of tiring at the end, and nearly lost third to Rookaholic. The post time favorite was at this best in the late stages. Hrudey let all the pucks go by tonight at the end.

About The Winner: Striped Maple, trained by Mb Stables and ridden by A A Gallardo, is a three year old gelding by the late Cthulhu, and out of Candy Stripe. He was bred in California by Team 7 Illusions as a yearling, though sold unraced to Eastern Equine for $55.020. He was acquired by Mb Stables in January for $450.000, via private sales. Congratulations to the connections! The win is Striped Maple’s second in twelve starts, and brings his career earnings up to $217.200.

Track: Firm
Time: :47¹  1:10¹  1:33⁴  1:45⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 3 – 1 Paid 21.40
$1 Trifecta: 3 – 1 – 4 Paid 63.40

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES