Bodexpress wins Clark Stakes to earn first graded stakes victory

Bodexpress celebrated Thanksgiving weekend at Churchill Downs on Friday, Nov. 27, 2020 in style, when he finally earned the first graded-stakes win of his career with a one-length victory over Code of Honor in the 146th running of the $500,000 Clark Stakes (G1).

“This horse just showed so much run today,” said his jockey Rafael Bejarano after the race. “I'm so proud of him.”

The win was a celebration for the 4-year old son of Bodemeister-Pied A Terre (Can), by City Zip, as he has been so close to winning a stakes race a number of times. He has also become a fan-favorite ever since he dumped his jockey at the start of the 2019 Preakness Stakes (G1) and then happily ran the rest of the race around the Pimlico track without a rider.

Bodexpress came into the Clark Stakes off an impressive 11-1/4 length gate-to-wire win in an allowance optional claiming race at Gulfstream Park race on Oct. 17.

While he had four wins in his career, none of them came in stakes races. His best finish for his trainer Gustavo Delgado came in the Florida Derby (G1) when he finished second on March 30, 2019 at Gulfstream Park and earned enough points to run in the Kentucky Derby, where he finished 13th on May 4, 2019.

Interestingly, he didn’t break his maiden until two races after the Kentucky Derby when he won a maiden special weight race at Gulfstream Park West on Oct. 14, 2019.

Bred in Kentucky by Jane Mulholland, the son of Bodemeister-Pied A Terre (Can), by City Zip would break from post position 8 in the Clark at 11.70 odds.

The favorite for the Clark was Code of Honor, who came into the race with some impressive performances in 2020. Just prior to the Clark, he finished second in the Kelso Handicap (G2) on at Belmont Park on Oct. 20,

Earlier in the year, he finished fourth in the Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga on Aug. 2; third in the Metropolitan Handicap (G1) at Belmont on July 4; and he won the Grade 3 Westchester Stakes at Belmont on June 6.

Ridden by jockey John Velazquez, Code of Honor would break from gate 3 at 1.60 odds.

Another horse to watch was Owendale, who came into the Clark off a fifth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 7 at Keeneland. Prior to that in 2020, he finished second in two other stakes races, the Pimlico Special Stakes (G3) at Pimlico on Oct. 2, and the Alysheba Stakes (G2) at Churchill on Sept. 4.

He would be ridden by Florent Geroux and break from gate 9.

At the start of the Clark, Bodexpress, Code of Honor, and Owendale all broke cleanly, with Bodexpress settling into second behind early race leader Phantom Currency. Behind them, Code of Honor was in ninth place, and Owendale in 12th place in the 14 horse field.

At the half-mile pole, Bodexpress began to move up on a tiring Phantom Currency and found himself a head shy of the lead, while Code of Honor had worked his way into sixth place. Meanwhile, Owendale had been bumped heading into the first turn and remained in 12th place.

To that point, the field had set fractions of 22.36 and 47.94 in the race.

By the 3/4-mile post, Bodexpress had slipped back to third, while Phantom Currency had fallen to second behind new race leader, Mr Freeze. In the meantime, Code of Honor remained in sixth and Owendale had moved up one spot into 11th.

Coming around the final turn and nearing the top of the stretch, things began to change quickly. Bodexpress moved out into the three path to take the lead. Code of Honor, also in the three-path, moved up one spot into fifth, while Owendale came flying six-wide and was now fourth.

Coming down the stretch, Bodexpress held his lead along the inside and continued to improve on his position. Behind him, Code of Honor tried to rally and catch the leader, but did not have enough in him to do so. For Owendale, it just wasn’t his day, as he got bumped again in the race, but continued to try and power on to catch the race leaders.

At the wire, Bodexpress got the win one-length in front of Code of Honor, while Owendale finished one-length behind in third.

Bodexpress finished the 1-1/8th-mile race on a track rated fast in 1:49.12.

“This is a different horse than we saw last year during the Triple Crown campaign,” said Gustavo Delgado Jr., the son and assistant for his father, Gustavo Sr. “He's really matured. Turning for home I thought we had a really good shot. The horse deserves this most of all. I'm very happy for everyone involved but we are so happy for Bodexpress.”

For the win, Bodexpress paid $25.40, $10.60 and $7. Code of Honor paid $4 and $3, while Owendale paid $3.60.

Owned by Top Racing LLC, Global Thoroughbred, and GDS Racing Stable, Bodexpress now has 4 wins, 4 seconds, 3 thirds and $694,600 in earnings in 17 career starts.

Bodemeister will now get some rest for the winter to prepare for his 2021 campaign. If he remains healthy, his next possible start could be in the Pegasus World Cup (G1) at Gulfstream on Jan 23, 2021. He finished fifth in the Pegasus this past January.

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In other racing news from Churchill this past Thanksgiving weekend, Keepmeinmind won the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) by 3/4-lengths over Smiley Sobotka, with Arabian Prince finishing third.

Keepmeinmind finished ran the 1-1/8th-mile race for 2-year-old on a fast track in 1:44.62 and improved his career mark to 1 win, 2 seconds, 1 third, and $394,320 in four starts.

A son of Laoban-Inclination, by Victory Gallop, he is trained by Robertino Diodoro for owners Cypress Creek LLC and Arnold Bennewith, and was ridden in the race by jockey David Cohen.

Authentic runs away with Breeders’ Cup Classic

 Authentic validated his status as one of the top 3-year-old Thoroughbreds in the country on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020 at Keeneland, with an emphatic gate to wire win over stablemate Improbable and five other Grade 1 winners in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.

It was an impressive win for the 2020 Kentucky Derby winner, as he broke from the gate on a beautiful, sunlit afternoon, took the lead under jockey John Velazquez, and never looked back, crossing the finish line as the 2-1/4 length winner. Coming in third, one length behind second-place Improbable, was Global Campaign.

Authentic scored an impressive 2-1/4 length victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland on Saturday, Nov.  7. (Photo courtesy of Keeneland photos.)

Trained by Bob Baffert, Authentic, who is by Into Mischief-Flawless, by Mr. Greeley, finished the 1-1/4-mile race on the dirt track listed as “Fast,” in a new track record time of 1:59.19. The previous track record of 2:00.07was set in 2015 by American Pharoah. (Note: there were no fractions available for the race as the timing system malfunctioned. Final time was done by hand.)

The win in the Classic was the first for hall of fame jockey Velazquez; one of the few big races he hadn’t won in his career. It was also the fourth for Baffert, who had previously won with Bayern (2014), American Pharoah (2015) and Arrogate (2016).

Owned by Spendthrift Farm, MyRaceHorse Stable, Madaket Stables, and Starlight Racing, the beautiful bay colt won five times in seven starts this year, and improved his overall record to 6 wins, 2 seconds, and $6,191,200 in earnings in 8 career starts.

“You know what, they were all training so well and [Authentic] was training well,’ said Baffert, who also trained Improbable and Maximum Security in the race. “I think Johnny [Velazquez] got to know him a lot better and he’s just a quirky guy. But when I saw him out there, he’s catching up with these older horses. That’s what they do at this time of year. What a horse. He’s the real deal. … That was awesome!”

Velazquez concurred with Baffert’s assessment saying, “It’s incredible. Thanks God and the whole team. The older I get, the more emotional I get. It worked out perfect. Bob said to take him to the lead so he doesn’t wander so much and keep his mind on running. It worked out. He did everything I wanted him to do.”

To say the field for the 2020 Classic was loaded would be an understatement of epic proportions, as six of the 10 entries were grade 1 winners.

To start, there was Tiz the Law, who opened 2020 on fire, scoring wins in the Holy Bull Stakes (G1) and the Florida Derby (G1), before winning the Belmont Stakes (G1), which was run as the first of the Classics this year because of the Coronavirus, and was run only at 1-1/4 miles instead of the usual 1-1/2 miles.

Tiz the Law then added to his status with a dominating 5-1/2-length victory in the Travers Stakes (G1), making him the favorite going into the Kentucky Derby, which was being run in September this year.

However, on Derby day, he just didn’t seem to like the Churchill track and finished second to Authentic. It should be noted that Tiz the Law’s only other career loss came at Churchill as well.

Owned by Sakatogs Stables, the same group that owned 2003 Kentucky Derby winner Funny Cide, and trained by Barclay Tagg, he would be ridden by Manny Franco and break from post position 2.

Then there was Authentic, who also started the season on strong note as well, winning the Sham Stakes (G3), the San Felipe Stakes (G2), finishing second to Honor A.P. in the Santa Anita Derby (G1), before bouncing back to win the Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1). Those races all led to his strong performance in winning the Kentucky Derby.

Following the Derby, he finished second to the super-filly Swiss Skydiver in the Preakness, before being rested until the Classic.

As noted, Authentic was trained by Baffert, would be ridden by Velazquez and break from post position 9.

Improbable was another Baffert trainee. In 2020, he was coming into the race off three straight Grade 1 victories in the Gold Cup, the Whitney Handicap and the Awesome again Stakes.

Owned by Winstar Farm, the China Horse Club and SF Racing, he would be ridden by Irad Ortiz and break from post position 8.

Maximum Security, best known for winning the 2019 Kentucky Derby then disqualified for interference, is the third Baffert trainee in the race. Baffert became trainer earlier this year when owner Gary West switched his horse to Baffert’s barn after his original trainer, John Servis, was caught up in a drug sting, which is still being litigated in court.

The bay 4-year old colt also had a solid 2020 season. After winning the inaugural Saudi Cup, though that is still in litigation due to Servis, he won the San Diego Handicap (G2) and the Pacific Classic (G1), before running strong but finishing second to Improbable in the Awesome Again Stakes just prior to the Classic. Still he cannot be overlooked.

Owned by Gary and Mary West, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, he would be ridden in the race by Luis Saez, and break from the far outside in post position 10.

Those were probably the top four horses race fans would be watching, but there were still a few other horses coming into the race with impressive resumes.

Tom’s d’Etat had a Grade 1 win earlier this year in the Oaklawn Mile, while Global Campaign had a Grade 1 win in the Woodward Handicap. Both horses were capable of winning the Classic, but did not fare well in the race, finishing ninth and tenth, respectively.

One final horse that was worth watching was fan-favorite, Tacitus. A beautiful gray, his biggest win in 2020 came in the Suburban Handicap (G2). And, while he was bumped early in the Classic, he did what he always does, and ran his heart out in the race. In the end, he finished fourth, two lengths behind Global Campaign.

As for the race itself, which was run in front of limited attendance due to Covid restrictions, Authentic broke alertly, went straight for the lead and set the pace for the race just off the rail. He then held his lead down the backstretch and around the final turn. As he reached the eighth pole, he seemed to kick into another gear, and with little urging from Velazquez down the stretch, crossed the wire a 2-1/4-length winner.

Behind him was Improbable in second, with Global Campaign third, followed by Tacitus, Maximum Security, Tiz the Law, Title Ready, By My Standards, Tom’s d’Etat, and Higher Power.

With the win, Authentic now stakes his claim to possible Horse of the Year honors. As to whether that could happen, Baffert said, “He sealed the deal. It’s not a fluke. He’s the best horse in America.”

Authentic paid $10.40, $5.40 and $4.20 for the win, while Improbable paid $4.80 and $3.30 for second, and Global Campaign paid $8.80 for third.

Postscript: On Monday following the Breeders’ Cup, it was announced that Authentic would be retired and begin his stud career. He will stand at Spendthrift Farm in Lexington for a fee of $75,000.

Update: On Wed., Nov. 11, Keeneland and Equibase announced that they reviewed the tape of the race and now have official results – fractions and final time. Their statement read:

“Prior to the running of the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) on November 7, 2020, at Keeneland, a photo eye at the start of the race was inadvertently tripped, which resulted in an error when attempting to operate the timing system manually causing inaccurate timing for all fractions and the final time of the race. A final time of 1:59.19 was initially provided by Equibase using the available video replay.

“After subsequent and more detailed review and timing of the race from multiple sources and camera angles, Keeneland and Equibase have determined the fractional times for the Classic (:23.20, :46.84, 1:10.32, 1:34.64) and confirmed a final time of 1:59.60. The Classic chart has been updated and the running of Authentic in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic is now the official track record for the 1 1/4-mile distance at Keeneland.”

Monomoy Girl scores impressive win in Breeders’ Cup Distaff

Monomoy Girl capped off her extraordinary undefeated 2020 racing season with an impressive victory in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Keeneland on Saturday, Nov. 7.

With jockey Florent Geroux riding, the five-year old mare took the lead at the top of the stretch, then held off all challengers and crossed the wire 3-1/4 lengths ahead of second-place finisher Valience. Finishing third a half-length back was Dunbar Road.

“Honestly, it’s a relief,” said her trainer Brad Cox. “She means the world to me and it’s a lot of pressure when we run her, I don’t know why. It just is. … She’s a real race horse.”

Monomoy Girl, with jockey Florent Geroux riding, scored an impressive victory in the 2020 Breeders' Cup Distaff on Saturday Nov, 8, 2020, at Keeneland. (Photo courtesy of Keeneland photos)

Coming into this year’s championships, which were held at Keeneland, Nov. 6 and 7, the Distaff was probably one of, if not, the most highly anticipated races of the event.

There were two highly-talented Thoroughbreds headlining the race, Swiss Skydiver and Monomoy Girl, and everyone was hoping the two would hook up and have a memorable dual for the ages.

Swiss Skydiver came into the race with great credentials. This year the 3-year-old filly ran nine races, won five times, finished second two times and third once, while collecting $1,741,820 in earnings.

Her wins included the Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2), the Fantasy Stakes (G3), the Santa Anita Oaks (G2), the Alabama Stakes (G1), while also finishing second in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) and second in the Blue Grass Stakes (G2), when she took on the boys for the first time.

The highlight of her 2020 season came in the race leading up to the Breeders’ Cup when her trainer, Ken McPeek, decided to let her race against the boys for the second time, this time in a Classic – the Preakness Stakes (G1). In that race, with jockey Robby Albarado riding, she battled down the stretch, side-by-side with Authentic, and gallantly held off the 2020 Kentucky Derby winner to win by a neck.

Meanwhile, Monomoy Girl had overcome a lot to even be back in horse racing. After winning the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Distaff, the mare missed the next year-and-a-half due to colic and other physical injuries. However, she healed completely and Cox brought her back to race this year.

And, she didn’t disappoint, scoring three straight wins this year leading up to the Breeders’ Cup. The first was an allowance race, the second was the Ruffian Stakes (G2) and the third was the La Troienne Stakes (G1) all with Florent Geroux, who has been her jockey in all 14 career starts, aboard.

According to both trainers, their horses were in great shape, training well, and were ready for the challenge of the competition.

In addition, there were a few other horses with solid credentials in the 10-horse field.

Harvest Moon came into the race after winning four out of five of his races in 2020, including her two previous outings, the Torrey Pines Stakes (G3) and the Zenyatta Stakes (G2). Trained by Simon Callaghan, she would be ridden by her regular jockey, Flavien Prat.

Another horse to watch would be Dunbar Road, who had two wins in three starts in 2020. She won the Shawnee Stakes (black type) and the Delaware Handicap (G2), before finishing third in the Beldame Stakes (G2) in the race prior to the Breeders’ Cup. She is trained by Chad Brown, and would be ridden by Jose Ortiz.  

One last horse to watch was Valiance, who was coming into the race off three straight wins. The first was an allowance race, the second the Eatontown Stakes (listed) and the third was the Juddmonte Spinster Stakes G1. She was trained by Todd Pletcher, and would be ridden by a new jockey (for her), Luis Saez.

As the horses lined up for the race on a beautiful, sunny and warm afternoon, with limited attendance present due to the Coronovirus, all eyes were on Swiss Skydiver in post position five, and Monomoy Girl on the outside in post position 10.

With the horses ready, the gates clanged open and, within one second, the hoped for intended match-up was over, as Swiss Skydiver stumbled out of the gate, was collected by Albarado, and settled into ninth place.

Meanwhile, Horologist, Ce Ce, and Lady Kate fought up front for the lead, while Geroux guided Monomoy Girl into seventh place, and eventually moved her to the outside to fourth place.

The field set some good fractions of 23.11, 46.03 and 1.09.94, on a track labeled “Fast,” though it was so fast it favored speed horses, as no horses laying in the back of the pack ever had a chance of winning all weekend long

Coming around the final turn and heading into the stretch, Monomoy Girl was four-wide and moved to the front to take the lead.

Behind her, coming out of the turn five wide was Valiance, who was trying to catch up to the leader.

On the inside, Swiss Skydiver worked hard to overcome her bad start, and actually got close to the leaders, but she was not able to continue on in strong fashion. She faded back and would finish seventh.

Up front, Monomoy Girl kept pushing on and while Valiance tried her best to catch up, it just wasn’t good enough on this day, and Monomoy Girl crossed the wire a winner by 1-3/4 lengths,

Valiance was second, with Dunbar Road in third a half-length back, followed by Harvest Moon, Ce, Point of Honor, Swiss Skydiver, Ollie's Candy, Horologist, and Lady Kate.

After the race, Albarado spoke about Swiss Skydiver’s stumble out of the gate, saying, “It maybe cost her a length or two position-wise, but it didn’t cost us the win. I’m disappointed we didn’t win, but I’m not disappointed in her. She’s a special filly and everybody knows her.”

The day, however, belonged to Monomoy Girl, who is by Tapizar-Drumette, by Henny Hughes. She finished the 1-1/8-mile race in 1:47.84, which was very close to the record set by Noble Bird of 1:47.75 in 2016.

“What a mare, just exceptional,” said Geroux. “She’s a mare of a lifetime, very rare. It’s like finding a diamond. When you have it, you do the best you can. It’s a gift. Even after all she’s been through, being off a year and a half, to come back and still be at the top of her game is unreal. I’m super thankful for the opportunity that Brad and the owners have given me.”

Added Cox, “She’s meant so much for so many people’s lives, she’s an amazing creature. I love her to pieces. Words can’t even describe it. I think she plays a big role in our other three Breeders’ Cup victories over the weekend. She’s meant so much to so many people’s lives. She was my first Grade 1 winner here at Keeneland. I’m just do proud of her.”

Owned by Michael Dubb, Monomoy Stables, The Elkstone Group, and Bethlehem Stables, Monomoy Girl improves her career record to 13 wins, 2 seconds, 0 thirds and $4,426,818, in 15 career starts.

She is also one of only four horses to win the Distaff twice, as she joins Royal Delta, Beholder and Bayakoa, who accomplished the same feat.

With the win, Cox joins Richard Mandella with a record tying four wins in one Breeders’ Cup Championship weekend,

"Words can’t even describe it," Cox said.  "I think she plays a big role in our other three Breeders Cup victories over the weekend. She was my first Grade 1 winner here at Keeneland. I’m just do proud of her."

With the win, Monomoy Girl brought $4 for the win, $3 for the place, and $2.40 for the show. Valiance paid $8.80 and $5.60, while Dunbar Road paid $8 to show.

Postscript… On Sunday, Nov. 9, the day after the Breeders’ Cup, Monomoy Girl was sold for $9.5 million at the Fasig Tipton November Sale. She was purchased by Spendthrift Farm from the consignment of ELiTE, agent.

According to a report on the Fasig-Tipton website, "Ned Toffey of Spendthrift Farm told Alicia Wincze Hughes of the NTRA that Monomoy Girl will be returned to Cox and remain in training for another year."

That means, if she stays healthy, the potential future Hall of Famer, just might go for a third Breeders’ Cup Distaff win next year. Stay tuned.

Back in the Saddle!

It's been a while! Five years to be exact. Time flies for sure.

And so... with the Breeders' Cup this weekend at Keeneland, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6-7, 2020, I am going to re-start my horse racing blog to get back into the practice of writing about the sport. My goal is to do at least one new entry a week. We'll see hot it goes.

My first posts will be about the Breeders' Cup Distaff and Breeders' Cup Classic, which are both on Saturday. My goal for this first time back is to post my stories on Monday (Distaff) and Tuesday (Classic).

Thanks for reading!