NEWS
Bold Start powers to convincing Aristides victory
Posted: Saturday, May 30, 2009 7:11 PM
BOLD START
Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer Photography
To view the Aristides Stakes, click here.
by Patrick Reed
Lawrence Carroll’s Bold Start reaffirmed his affinity for the main track at Churchill Downs and broke through for his first graded stakes victory in the $112,600 Aristides Stakes (G3) on Saturday, defeating multiple Grade 3 winner Semaphore Man by 2¾ lengths.
Ridden by Robby Albarado, who earned his 4,000th career win in the previous race, Bold Start covered six furlongs on a track rated as fast in 1:09.04. The five-year-old Jump Start horse notched his second victory at the distance during Churchill’s spring meet following a two-length allowance win on May 10.
Sent off as the third wagering choice at 4.40-to-1, Bold Start patiently tracked in third as Garifine and Semaphore Man led a ten-horse field through an opening quarter in :21.88 and a half-mile in :44.73. Bold Start and Semaphore Man sprinted away in early stretch and battled into the final sixteenth, but Bold Start found another gear and drew clear.
Semaphore Man gamely held on to finish second, three-quarters of a length in front of 35.40-to-1 longshot Knight’s Cross, who bested 1.90-to-1 favorite Sok Sok by a length for third.
Before returning to Churchill this spring, Bold Start had endured seven consecutive starts without visiting the winner’s circle following his victory in the Dan Bernhardt Stakes at Ellis Park in July 2008. Trained by Ken McPeek, Bold Start improved his career record to nine wins in 31 starts—with six wins in 11 starts at Churchill, including two turf scores—and boosted his earnings to $528,810. He is out of the stakes-winning Flying Paster mare Dorky.
Hightap outfinishes Luster in Dogwood (video)
Hightap surged past Luster in the final sixteenth to post a visually impressive 3¼-length victory in the $111,500 Dogwood Stakes (G3).
Sent off as the 6-to-1 third wagering choice in a field of nine three-year-old fillies, Hightap covered Churchill’s one-turn mile in 1:35.78 on track rated as fast.
Luster, sent off as the 9-to-10 favorite following a 6¼-length score in an allowance race on Churchill’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) undercard, tracked in fourth along the backstretch as Affirmed Truth and Lady’s Laughter dueled through a half-mile in :45.92.
Luster wrested the lead from Lady’s Laughter at the quarter pole, but jockey Shaun Bridgmohan quickly urged Hightap into contention on the outside and the two fillies matched strides in midstretch before Hightap pulled away.
Luster was 2 1/2 lengths clear of late-running third-place finisher Perfect for You.
Owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds and Gainesway Thoroughbreds, Hightap rebounded from a disappointing seventh-place finish in the Honeybee Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn Park on March 15 to tally her first stakes victory. The Tapit filly improved her career record to three wins in five starts and boosted her earnings to $126,365. Hightap is out of the Regal Classic mare Don’tellmichelle and is from the family of 1976 Canadian Horse of the Year Norcliffe.
Stakes winner Affirmed Truth took a bad step with a half-mile remaining. She was pulled up by jockey Calvin Borel and vanned off.
For Equibase charts, click here.
Patrick Reed is a THOROUGHBRED TIMES contributing writer
