The Baruch Handicap (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
SAR- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Inner Turf
September 6, 2021
The rain that came down on Monday at SAR seemed to be a bit of a surprise. Spotty showers were in the forecast for the area, but for them to do enough to the turf course to make it go off as yielding was a disappointment. Don’t tell that to Smokey Stover, though, at least not in regards to the Baruch Handicap, as his gelding, Fuji, annihilated the field and won by five lengths. That’s not meant to imply that Fuji needed the rain to win this race, as after all he came into it on very good form, and most of them were on firm turf. He was the post time favorite, though was not included in our picks, and I am beginning to think that I might have just overlooked him at pick time after going through the whole field. The win is the first in the race for both Smokey Stover and jockey E Jaramillo. Congratulations to them! The time of the race was 1:41.43. Let’s take a look!
(¼ MIle- :23.65)- Moonlight Special goes to the lead and opens up by about two lengths for Allinthegate. There are three stalkers initially, and the one that ends up a little quicker than the others is Mr Scratch, riding in the third lane for Nakamura Stables. He’s a length ahead of Dogs Noah, from Maxmillion Farm, and he is a length ahead of Through The World, who runs the rail here for La Canada Racehorses. In the middle of the field, we have our eventual race winner, Smokey Stover’s Fuji, who patiently runs in the second lane while having Two In The Chamber, from TwinTowersRacing, to his outside. There’s about two lengths behind them to Plucky Flash (Rock Creek) and Bubba Kush (Threshold) and another to Black Horizon (Maxmillion Farm) and Mucho Baked (Spankys Barn).
(½ Mile- :47.33)- The field is lined up pretty well as they move into the backstretch with Moonlight Special still showing the way. His lead is two still over Mr Scratch, as that one is unhurried to make a bid for the lead. Through The World is a length behind him while on the rail and this general formation carries through the field, with Dogs Noah, Fuji, and Two In The Chamber aligned similarly. There would be a gap of two to the rest of the field.
(Top Of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- Midway through the backstretch, Fuji decided that he had enough of the way everyone else was running so calmly and looked to make his move as they approached the turn. Once inside the turn, he was very impressive, pulling to the outside of both Mr Scratch and Through The World and passing them as if they were standing still. In a blink of an eye, he was up to second, and entering the stretch, there was only one horse left to pass. That would be Moonlight Special, and unless he could find another gear, that pass would be inevitable very quickly. Through The World did move into the third in the turn but was already a length and a half behind Fuji. Further back, Bubba Kush was making a move, too, but Threshold couldn’t have liked seeing how explosive Fuji was in the turn. Second place would still pay good money, though, if he could get it.
(Finish- 1:41.43)- In the stretch, the only question would be which horse would complete the exacta. Fuji was in a race of his own at this point, easily passing Moonlight Special and clearing the field. Heading to the wire, there was no doubt. Fuji, in the type of romp we tend to only see on wet tracks at this purse level, within our game. Bubba Kush did run well in the stretch, and that would be worthwhile as he caught Moonlight Special at the wire for second, leaving the pacesetter third. Through The World gets the final purse money, beating Mr Scratch, Plucky Flash, Two In The Chamber, and Mucho Baked. It was five more lengths to the Maxmillion pair, Black Horizon and Dogs Noah.
About The Winner- Fuji, trained by Smokey Stover and ridden to victory by E Jaramillo, is a four year old gelding by What Have You Done, and is out of Agent Bleu. He was bred as a yearling by the trainer in Louisiana, keeping them together throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his eighth in 23 starts, and his second stake win, each being graded.
Track: Yielding
Time: :233 :471 1:111 1:412
$2 Mutuel Prices:
$1 Exacta: 6 – 11 Paid 40.70
$1 Trifecta: 6 – 11 – 3 Paid 362.30
Scratched: Starship El Gran
— NS
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES
