The BEL Gold Cup (Grade 2)- $400.000 Purse
BEL- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Half on the Turf
June 7, 2019

It had been a little while since Taniwha had been to the winners circle. He is well respected throughout the game, but was lacking momentum heading into the race and therefore most bettors gave him a look, but went with other options. It would be the first time in two years that he had double digit odds in a non-BC race. (He was 11/1 in the BC Turf last year). We had him to run fourth. In the BEL Gold Cup, Taniwha ran much like he did in the Pattison last fall, the last race that he had won, and would earn the victory. Trainer Aml Racing wins the race for the first time, and so does the great F Pennington. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 2:24.57, a new stake record. Let’s take a look!

(½ Mile- :49.01)- Techfluence, running for The Sidley Stud, had an interesting start to the race, shooting out of the starting gate and looking as though he was going to open up a lead down the frontstretch. But then, he backed off and retreated. This handed the lead over to D J C Racing Stables’ Penitentiary, who also started well. Our eventual winner, Taniwha, out of Aml Racing, started well and assumed a stalking position of Penitentiary as they moved around the first turn. Techfluence, after retreating a bit, looked like he wanted to come forward again as they approached the backstretch and trailed by about two and a half. Nearby on his outside would be By Design, from Mb Stables, and on the inside we saw Maxmillion. Farm’s Barton Farms. It was another half length to Happy Model (Estero Farms). After a gap of about three more lengths the two trailers were What The Farley (YME Stable) and Commander Die Hard (TwinTowersRacing).

(3/4 Mile- 1:12.95)- Here comes By Design along the outside just as the backstretch run commenced. With an assertive push, he moves into the second position and moves to be within a length of the pace setting Penitentiary. The leader was still looking good and not over exerting himself at this point, or so it seemed. Taniwha is now third, but had been running consistently and was not worried about the advance of By Design, and was still two lengths off. It’s another length to Techfluence and Barton Rovers, who are content to hold their ground at this point, and that is true for Happy Model, too, who was another length back. What The Farley and Commander Die Hard were still at the back and neither had cut into their deficit to the rest of the field, let alone the frontrunners.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Things remain the same until the backstretch trip ends, but at the top of the turn, Happy Model begins to make his push, needing to go 4-5 wide in order to do so. He gradually makes up ground, and emerges at the top of the stretch a nose in front of Techfluence for third with two lengths to make up. At the front, Taniwha progressed to the outside of Penitentiary, and was alongside at the top of the stretch, putting himself in an outstanding position. If Happy Model wanted to have a strong stretch run, he had his work cut out for him, knowing how well Taniwha has shown to run in the stretch in the past. Techfluence was fourth, running adequately, but seemed need to more. By Design dropped back to about where he started when he pushed forward previously. Barton Rovers was sixth, but seemed to be lacking stretch response. What The Farley and Commander Die Hard now caught the back of the field and had a little less then five lengths to make up.

(Finish- 2:24.57)- In the stretch, Taniwha was explosive, proving how he can be the best in the game at this maximum distance when he is on top form. The last furlong was especially telling, as for a little while, Penitentiary was hold on, but the horse to really watch here was Happy Model. He had begun to close, but with a furlong to go, he could do absolutely nothing with Taniwha, and made up no ground. Taniwha ran strong all the wire, and likely would have kept doing so if the race were even longer. Happy Model ran well in the stretch, but that could only be good enough for second. Techfluence was similar in the stretch, pulling ahead of those behind him pretty easily, but unable to do more. Pentientiary ran decently until about a furlong to go, when he appeared to get winded and tired to the wire, getting fourth. Commander Die Hard and What The Farley advanced to fifth and sixth, ahead of By Design and Barton Rovers.

About The Winner- Taniwha, trained by Aml Racing and ridden to victory by F Pennington is a five year old horse by the late Monarch, and is out of Nagasaki Girl. He was bred in New York as a yearling by Yahudi Stables, and acquired by Aml Racing in private sales in October 2017 for $250.000. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his seventh in 19 starts and his fifth graded win. His career earnings are now $1,567.660.

Track: Firm
Time: :49   1:12⁴  2:00²  2:24²

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 3 – 2 Paid 129.70
$1 Trifecta: 3 – 2 – 8 Paid 274.10

Scratched: Early Retirement

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES