NY Stallion Series- Bid ($150.000 Purse)
BEL- For Three Year Olds Foaled In NY
Seven Furlongs on the Turf
June 21, 2020

It was not the first time that Keanu Storm had run on the grass, but it had been a while. The first two starts of his career came on the turf, but after that, Keanu Storm would only be seen on the main track. That would see the gelding have some ups and downs, and he was well prepared for his return to the grass on Sunday. Trainer Arindel had been preparing him well for this over the last few weeks, and her works showed that she was ready for this change. We made him one of our picks in the preview, seeing this promise, and recommended that he get played if his odds were to climb. I felt that could happen, and sure enough he ended up as a 13/1 longshot in a race that did not have a clear favorite. Keanu Storm would do his best running late and got up at the wire to win the race by nearly a length. For trainer Arindel, this is his first win in the Bid. Jockey J J Castellano is now a two time winner, having also won the inaugural edition back in 2008. Congratulations to the connections! The time of the race was 1:20.47, making it the third quickest running of the race. Let’s take a look!

(1/4 Mile- :22.97)- The race begins with Most High shooting out of the gate for Night Rider Stables, and he is able to move over to the rail fairly quickly. He has some company at the front, with Commanding Ghhost, who had started to his outside, running second for Chili King Stables. Next up, Finite assumed a stalking position in third for Dynark Stables. The Mb Stables trained B C P ran fourth, a length ahead of the heart of the pack at this point. Neb Magne was the leader of that group, for Gdp Inc, with three hot on his tail. This would be Tahiti Weekend (Fractious), The End Game (RNP Stables), and Leave It Be (Mb Stables) Half a length further behind them, and running in the fifth lane is where we find our eventual winner, Arindel’s Keanu Storm. At this point, he has four and a half lengths to make up. Shore Party (D J C Racing Stables) is just behind them. Afterwards, there is a big gap between the last two, each of which were notably sluggish out of the gate. He Steals Two (Threshold) and Lord Voldemort (Night Mare Racing) had their work cut out for them.

(½ Mile- :45.76)- Completing the backstretch run, and moving into the turn, Most High begins to pull away from the field as Commanding Ghhost is no longer able to keep up with him. At half a mile, Commanding Ghhost is also falling into the clutches of Finite, as that one continued to run a sensible pace near the front. Otherwise, we do not seem much change in the running of the field over the this portion of the race. The pack does seem to tighten up just a little bit more, with Keanu Storm being able to keep himself out of harms way there by running to the outside. He did not begin a push forward quite yet, as he still trailed by approximately five lengths.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Nearing the exit of the turn, Finite starts showing interest in making a run at the lead, and pulls right up behind Most High, who still seemed to be running well at this point. Therefore, for Keanu Storm, it was good that he did not wait any longer to continue making his own charge from the outside. He was certainly out there, as well, since the field fanned out to force him about seven or eight wide. The End Game was another one looking very interesting right now, as he picked up the pace leaving the turn and was pulling up to the outside of Commanding Ghhost. That one, as well as B C P looked to be lacking response. Neb Magne moved into a good lane for a run if he had it in him, and Tahiti Weekend was hoping to find room. Shore Party moved out wide but had a lot of ground to make up and a lot of horses to pass. Lord Voldemort and He Steals Two were getting ready to join the rest of the field now.

(Finish- 1:20.47)- Keanu Storm closed quickly on the race leading Most High, but once he pulled level with him, Most High hung in there more then it seemed like he would. Meanwhile, The End Game was making up a lot of ground and also looking like a threat for the win. It would be in the final half furlong where Keanu Storm was at his best, finding an additional gear that the others at the front would not have. This would enable him to get up for the win by about a length! The End Game gets the headbob over Most High to complete the exacta, and the late running Shore Party ends up taking the fourth place purse. The rest of the running order is Finite, Tahiti Weekend, Lord Voldemort, Commanding Ghhost, Neb Magne, He Steals Two, B C P, and Leave It Be.

About The Winner- Keanu Storm, trained by Arindel and ridden to victory by J J Castellano, is a three year old gelding by Commanding The Storm, and is out of 5th Matrix. He was bred in New York by the trainer as a third quarter two year old, and they have been together since the start! Congratulations to the connections! The win is just his second in 12 starts, and is first stake win of any sort. His career earnings are now $178.040.

Track: Firm
Time: :22⁴  :45³  1:08⁴  1:20²

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 11 – 2 Paid 2,952.00
$1 Trifecta: 11 – 2 – 9 Paid 1,184.00

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded