NEWS
Haynesfield drives to victory in Discovery
Posted: Saturday, November 21, 2009 5:08 PM
HAYNESFIELD
Adam Coglianese/NYRA photo
To view the Discovery Handicap, click here.
by Steve Bailey
Turtle Bird Stable’s Haynesfield split rivals on the turn and charged home to an impressive 4½-length victory in the $103,500 Discovery Handicap (G3) on Saturday at Aqueduct.
The three-year-old from the first crop of Speightstown won his second straight start and his fourth from six starts this season for trainer Steve Asmussen. A four-time stakes winner entering the 1 1/8-mile race, Haynesfield picked up his first graded stakes victory.
Ridden patiently by Ramon Dominguez, Haynesfield raced in hand in second behind pacesetter Redding Colliery, who took the field through a half-mile in :48.84 and six furlongs in 1:13.46.
Finding room between horses on the turn, Haynesfield surged to the lead and turned back bids by runner-up Bad Action and 0.65-to-1 favorite Gone Astray in the stretch, driving to the clear victory in 1:50.10 on a fast track.
“We weren’t in a real hurry,” Dominguez said of Haynesfield, who was sent off as the 3.95-to-1 third wagering choice in the five-horse field. “We said if the No. 1 [Redding Colliery] or the No. 3 [Birdrun] wanted to go, we would let them go.
“Since my horse broke so good, I was going to let him go to the lead, but [Redding Colliery] went on and I decided to just sit off him. He was very relaxed. When it was time to pick it up, he was there for me.”
Bad Action held off Grade 2 winner Gone Astray by a neck for second.
Haynesfield won two of his three starts as a juvenile, impressing Asmussen’s team with his potential.
“He’s got a very high cruising speed, it looks like to me,” said Toby Sheets, an assistant to Asmussen. “We thought that last year, but he was a little immature. He’s definitely grown into himself.
“It’s nice to have the privilege of a horse like this. No thoughts whatsoever as to what’s next; we’ll see how he comes out of it and go from there.”
Haynesfield won for the sixth time from nine career starts and has earned $417,681. Bred in New York by Barry Weisbord and Margaret Santulli, he out of the stakes-winning Tejabo mare Nothing Special.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
Steve Bailey is deputy news editor of Thoroughbred Times
