NEWS
Discreetly Mine rolls to victory in King's Bishop
Posted: Saturday, August 28, 2010 5:30 PM
DISCREETLY MINE
Adam Coglianese/NYRA photo
For video of the King's Bishop Stakes, click here.
by Tim Nichols
Kept to task in the final furlong by jockey John Velazquez, E. Paul Robsham’s homebred Discreetly Mine showed off his blazing speed en route to his first Grade 1 win on Saturday.
The three-year-old Mineshaft colt trained by Todd Pletcher captured the $250,000 King’s Bishop Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course. Discreetly Mine appears poised for a run at the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) on November 6 at Churchill Downs after winning by 1¼ lengths and covering seven furlongs on a track rated as fast in 1:23.16.
“The plan was, if he broke well, to let him go away from there and let him do it,” Velazquez said. “He was going well all the way, even though we were going pretty fast. I was hoping he’d be able to give me something down the stretch, and he gave me everything he had.”
Velazquez needed to call on every ounce of reserve Discreetly Mine had in the final furlong after a testing opening quarter. As planned, Discreetly Mine broke well and assumed the lead while Bulldogger staked a spot in second.
After a quarter-mile in :21.90 and a half-mile in :44.11, Discreetly Mine needed to prove he had energy left entering the stretch for the final drive. With Bank Merger closing well, Discreetly Mine stayed on to secure his first win at the highest level.
“Anytime you go :21, :44 and change [in a seven-furlong race], that’s pretty demanding,” Pletcher said. “We were happy to hold on. We basically felt we had to [go for the lead] the way the track was playing.”
Entering off an 8¾-length romp in the Amsterdam Stakes (G2) on August 2 at Saratoga and a 1¼-length win in the Jersey Shore Stakes (G3) on July 4 at Monmouth Park, Discreetly Mine improved to five wins from 13 career starts.
Pletcher said Discreetly Mine’s next race probably will be the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on November 6 at Churchill Downs.
“We’d be inclined to train up to the Breeders’ Cup,” Pletcher said. “Twenty-six days [since winning the Amsterdam], 123 pounds—he’s spotting D’ Funnybone significant weight, but he was gutsy enough to get it done.”
Bank Merger finished second, two lengths better than third-place finisher Latigo Shore. Bulldogger faded to sixth while D’ Funnybone did not fire and finished last of seven.
A half brother to Grade 1 winner Discreet Cat and multiple Grade 1-placed stakes winner Pretty Wild, Discreetly Mine is out of Grade 1 winner Pretty Discreet, by Private Account.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
Tim Nichols is internet content editor for Thoroughbred Times
READER COMMENTS
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Posted by: Handicapper, Inglewood, CA on September 01, 2010 at 04:38 PM
Wow, to smoke those first two quarter's and still be there at the finish was pretty impressive, let's hope he can maintain that sharpness he has going right now until the B.C. Sprint
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Posted by: Frank, New Orleans, LA on August 28, 2010 at 06:17 PM
Discreetly Mine is such a good horse. A real competitor. A great win in the King's Bishop for him today. Well done to the connections of Discreetly Mine.
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