Seagram Cup Stakes (Grade 3)- $125.000 Purse
WO- For Three Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
July 26, 2020

The 214th career start for Wood Duck Stables will be a memorable one as the trainer picks up their first ever graded win! This one was quite a surprise, as the Seagram Cup boasted a strong field even with the scratch of Sars, so it was tough task for an up and comer like Bellamango. The betting public liked his chances, and made him the third choice on the board. Big news for this race happened before we ever went to post with the scratch of Sars, the horse that finished third in both the PRK and the BEL that was surprisingly dropped into this race to begin with. We’ll see where he eventually ends up, but the story of this race is now Bellamango, a Decima colt that was making just the fourth start of his career. Naturally, this is the first win in the stake for Wood Duck Stables, and it is also that for jockey L Contreras. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:41.21, in line with recent winning times. Let’s take a look!

(1/4 Mile- :23.15)- A few of them break pretty well out of the starting gate, but as they move closer to the beginning of the opening turn, Ornate, out of Nakamura Stables is particularly determined to take the lead and pulls out to a length of nearly a length and a half. Running in that second position is the Sharis Stables- trained Brady Is A Lady, who also broke sharply, though did not pursue Ornate any further. His stablemate, Prato Gentile, is third, and a length behind him. In the middle of the pack, Keep A Secret, from Nakamura Stables, and Undefeated Season, from Night Rider Stables run side by side, with Wolfslayer, out of Maxmillion Farm, in close proximity. The trailer is our eventual winner, Bellamango, from Wood Duck Stables, but he is still within five lengths early on.

(½ Mile- :46.71)- Nothing too dramatic happens as they run the second quarter mile. Ornate is still the leader, but Brady Is A Lady makes up a little ground on him, and starts to pull up to his outside, a little less then a length back now. Prato Gentile holds his ground in third, but jsut as they hit this point, we see Keep A Secret showing some ambition to come through on the rail during the backstretch. Wolfslayer and Undefeated Season hold their lines, and Bellamango is still five lengths back.

(Top of the Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Completing the backstretch trip, and moving into the turn, we begin to see Brady Is A Lady making his move on Ornate, and he pulls even with him during the turn. There would now be more to worry to about, and not only from his stablemate, Prato Gentile, who was coming on well to his inside. When we were running down the backstretch, we had also seen Keep A Secret showing his intention to advance on the rail, and this would continue during the turn. At the top of the stretch, Brady Is A Lady, Prato Gentile, and Keep A Secret were heads apart for the lead as Ornate began to back out. While all this was going on, L Contreras flipped the switch on Bellamango. He had been in the back, but always had been running in the outside lane, so when the urging to move forward was given early in the turn, he had plenty of room to do this. He would run with authority, and at the top of the stretch, he nearly four wide at the front, only half a length behind the leaders and looking very good. Wolfslayer was getting involved too, though not with the same intensity. Undefeated Season trailed, but with just two and a half lengths to make up.

(Finish- 1:41.21)- Once into the stretch, Bellamango had a full head of steam, but had some work to do because Keep A Secret was emerging as a strong contender from those who had been running at the front beforehand. Midway through the stretch, Bellamango’s power was far too much for Keep A Secret on this day, and he would pull out the length victory. Keep A Secret is second by a length over Brady Is A Lady who prevailed in a photo over Prato Gentile for the Sharis Stables bragging rights. Wolfslayer looked like he would be more of a contender, but can only be fifth. Ornate and Undefeated Season round it out.

About The Winner- Bellamango, trained by Wood Duck Stables and ridden to victory by L Contreras, is a three year old gelding by Decima, and is out of Her Sneaky Command. He was bred in California by Smokey Stover as a third quarter two year old, and acquired by Wood Duck in private sales, still unraced, for $75.000 in February 2020. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his third in four starts, and first stake win of any sort. His career earnings are now $150.600.

Track: Fast
Time: :23   :46³  1:10²  1:41¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 3 – 1 Paid 94.30
$1 Trifecta: 3 – 1 – 7 Paid 234.70

Scratched: Sars

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES