Longacres Mile (Grade 3)- $100.000 Purse
EMD- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on the Dirt
August 15, 2021
Ginger Sand came into the Longacres Mile hot, with wins in his last two races, and that earned him the chance to make his graded stakes debut. He had been working well, and drew one of the better jockeys at EMD, so he seemed like a pretty good bet. It was a little surprising to see our second choice go off at odds of 12/1, therefore, but that would not keep him from extending his winning streak to three with a length and a half victory over the post-time favorite, as well as our pick, Jolly Rook. The winning trainer is The Sidley Stud, and it is his first time winning this stake, and jockey J Whitaker is also a first time winner. The time of the win was 1:35.21, a middle of the road winning time for the race.
(¼ Mile- :23.78)- Two horses go right to the front at the start, with Given Up On You, trained by Night Mare Racing taking a half length lead over Nakamura Stables-trained Tango Mango. These two have a group of four stalkers right behind them, with Gettysburg, in the outermost lane, slightly ahead of the other three for Night Rider Stables. Invade The Storm runs fourth for Saratoga Stud on the rail and one of the horses running right between them is our eventual winner, Ginger Sand, from The Sidley Stud. John Henry’s Raunchy Bay is also a part of this group. There’s a gap of about two lengths to Rise Above (Mwn Racing), and another to Jolly Rook (Angelos Stable) and Smugglers Blues (John Henry). Bring The Pain (M.b.o. Racing Stable) is way back early on.
(½ Mile- :47.22)- Given Up On You remains the leader, and pulls ahead of Tango Mango by a length within the backstretch. On the outside, Gettysburg cuts into his deficit somewhat, and is almost a length ahead of Ginger Sand as that one continues to hold his line in the third lane. Invade The Storm stays on the rail while Raunchy Bay keeps pace with him. The distances remain the same to the rest of the field as they were previously.
(Top Of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Given Up On You shows the way down the backstretch and throughout the turn. However, as we approach the stretch, his lead is shrinking quickly. Not to Tango Mango or to Gettysburg, but to Ginger Sand, who looked really good around the turn and especially so after its midway point. Now, he is within half a length of the lead. More importantly, he has pulled away from the rest of the field, with the fading Tango Mango and Gettysburg a length behind him. Neither Invade The Storm nor Raunchy Bay, who had been running with him in the first half of the race were keeping up with him, either. Rise Above still had three lengths to make up, and Jolly Rook four, so it was a tall order for each of them to get to Ginger Sand.
(Finish- 1:35.21)- With a furlong to go, Ginger Sand completed the pass of Given Up On You, and we can give up on the rest of the field, too. They were stacked up five wide for third, but no one was going to be close enough to threaten for the win. All that was left was to watch Ginger Sand run, and he get a comfortable win in the end. Late running Jolly Rook takes second over Rise Above, then Given Up On You in a three way photo. Smugglers Blues and Bring The Pain dead heat for fifth, ahead of Invade The Storm, Raunchy Bay, Gettysburg, and Tango Mango.
About The Winner- Ginger Sand, trained by The Sidley Stud and ridden to victory by J Whitaker, is a three year old gelding by Ginger Haggis and is out of Desert Tech. He was bred as a third quarter two year old in New York by The Sidley Stud, the only trainer for which he has ever known. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his fifth in 13 starts, his second stake win, and first graded win. His career earnings are now $193.180.
Track: Fast
Time: :233 :471 1:104 1:351
$2 Mutuel Prices:
$1 Exacta: 6 – 8 Paid 27.90
$1 Trifecta: 6 – 8 – 9 Paid 413.50
Scratched: None
— NS
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES
