NEWS
Master Command sets sights on first Grade 1 win in Stephen Foster
Posted: Wednesday, June 13, 2007 3:57 PM
MASTER COMMAND
Four Footed Fotos
by Mike Curry
Master Command has been a force to be reckoned with in the handicap division this season and will attempt to extend his winning streak to four on Saturday in the $750,000 Stephen Foster Handicap (G1) at Churchill Downs.
The five-year-old A.P. Indy horse has an opportunity in the Stephen Foster to add a Grade 1 victory to his burgeoning record. The 1 1/8-mile race for three-year-olds and older also drew Grade 2 winners Wanderin Boy and Magna Graduate, undefeated Grade 3 winner Diamond Stripes, and Grade 3 winners Flashy Bull and Jonesboro.
Master Command was purchased for $650,000 at the 2003 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearlings sale but did not make his career debut until 2005. After placing in each of his first three career starts, Master Command broke through with consecutive victories to close his three-year-old campaign and opened his four-year-old season with an allowance victory at Gulfstream Park.
He placed fourth in his stakes debut in the 2006 Oaklawn Handicap (G2), but bounced back strongly to earn his first career graded stakes victory in May 2006, when he annexed the William Donald Schaefer Handicap (G3) at Pimlico Race Course.
Trained by Todd Pletcher for owners Aaron and Marie Jones, Master Command has elevated his game this season. He streaked to a six-length romp in the Mineshaft Handicap (G3) to open the season on February 10 at Fair Grounds and followed with a 3 1/2-length victory in the New Orleans Handicap (G2) on March 10.
Master Command enters off a victory in the National Jockey Club Handicap (G3) on April 21 at Hawthorne Race Course, where he defeated classic-placed Grade 2 winner Sweetnorthernsaint by 3 3/4 lengths.
Flashy Bull also will try to extend his winning streak to four for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin and owner West Point Thoroughbreds. The four-year-old Holy Bull colt enters off a gritty head victory over Hesanoldsalt in the William Donald Schaefer Handicap (G3) on May 19 at Pimlico.
“He is doing extremely well,” McLaughlin said. “We thought, ‘Let’s go for the $750,000 Grade 1.’ It could really help us a lot down the road as a stallion.
“He’s gotten so good. That’s the time you need to take on some better horses, when you’re doing so well. And he has just never been better.”
Wanderin Boy overcame myriad injuries that threatened to end his racing career before it started. The six-year-old Seeking the Gold horse, an Arthur Hancock III homebred, suffered a fractured sesamoid, two fractured cannon bones, and bucked shins before he made his career debut, but quickly has transformed from underdog to star pupil for trainer Nick Zito.
He won the Brooklyn Breeders’ Cup Handicap (G2) and Ben Ali Stakes (G3) last season and finished second to eventual Horse of the Year Invasor (Arg) in the Pimlico Special Handicap (G1). Wanderin Boy enters off a 4 1/4-length score in the Alysheba Stakes (G3) on May 4 at Churchill Downs.
Magna Graduate opened the season with an unplaced finish in the Donn Handicap (G1) on February 3 at Gulfstream Park, but rebounded in a big way with consecutive graded stakes victories.
Trained by Pletcher for owner Elisabeth Alexander, the five-year-old Honor Grades horse posted a 1 3/4-length win in the Razorback Breeders’ Cup Handicap (G3) on March 9 and enters off a 3 3/4-length romp in the Excelsior Breeders’ Cup Handicap (G3) on April 7 at Aqueduct.
Mike Curry is a Thoroughbred Times daily news editor
The field, in post-position order with (sire), jockey, weight, and trainer:
1. Diamond Stripes (Notebook), Edgar Prado, 116, Richard Dutrow Jr.;
2. Master Command (A.P. Indy), John Velazquez, 123, Todd Pletcher;
3. Magna Graduate (Honor Grades), Garrett Gomez, 118, Todd Pletcher;
4. Mr. Umphrey (Jules), Phil Teator, 112, Richard E. Dutrow Jr.;
5. Wiggins (Cartwright), Rafael Bejarano, 114, Dale Romans;
6. Wanderin Boy (Seeking the Gold), Corey Nakatani, 120, Nick Zito;
7. Flashy Bull (Holy Bull), Robby Albarado, 115, Kiaran McLaughlin; and
8. Jonesboro (Sefapiano), Calvin Borel, 114, Randy Morse.
