NEWS
European shipper awesome in Gotham
Posted: Saturday, March 06, 2010 6:40 PM
AWESOME ACT
Adam Coglianese/NYRA photo
To view the Gotham Stakes, click here.
by Mike Curry
Awesome Act made the trip from England to the U.S. worthwhile for his connections with an easy victory on Saturday in the $250,000 Gotham Stakes (G3) that stamped the Awesome Again colt a legitimate contender on the Triple Crown trail.
Trainer Jeremy Noseda shipped Awesome Act across the Atlantic Ocean for his season debut and first career start on a dirt track. He handled the four-month layoff and surface switch with a visually impressive victory under Julien Leparoux.
“He's a horse that is reminding me all the time of Wilko,” Noseda said of the Awesome Again colt he conditioned to victory in the 2004 Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1). “He handled the dirt today. You would think a horse by Awesome Again would handle the dirt. For the first time, it's all we could ask for.”
Awesome Act swept into contention on the far turn and accelerated willingly entering the stretch, inhaling pacesetter Wow Wow Wow and Nacho Friend with an explosive turn of foot to take charge. He rolled to a 1 1/4-length score under a steady hand ride, completing 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.85 on a track rated as fast.
“He was beyond good on the dirt,” Leparoux said. “It didn't matter to him at all. He just did everything on his own, he put me in the right spots, and then he just finished very nice. I think more distance will be good."
Awesome Act had not raced since finishing fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G2) on November 7 at the Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita Park. Noseda was unable to ship Awesome Act to the U.S. until Tuesday after a flight scheduled for the week before was canceled because of inclement weather.
But the combination of a delayed trip, the surface switch, the layoff, and the transcontinental flight could not slow down Awesome Act in the Gotham. He improved to two wins, two seconds, and one third in seven starts for owners Susan Roy and Vinery Stables. Sent off as the 2.85-to-1 favorite in the Gotham, he also picked up his first stakes win and cemented his status as a top contender for the Wood Memorial Stakes (G1) on April 3 at Aqueduct.
"I believed in this horse today. It was a good, solid race, but there were no graded stakes winners,” Noseda said. “It's the first hurdle out of the way, so the dream lives on. We'll be back for the Wood Memorial. He'll stay at Belmont Park, in Steve Asmussen's barn with my team, and get ready for the Wood.”
Bred in Kentucky by Flaxman Holdings, Awesome Act is one of two winners from three starters out of the winning Mr. Prospector mare Houdini’s Honey, a full sister to multiple Group 1 winners Machiavellian and Coup de Genie.
"We had the discussion about him possibly being a [Kentucky] Derby [G1] horse after the Breeders' Cup. I stood up and said 'I believe I can do it from Europe,' “ Noseda said. “Now he's been in America, and we can move forward. I will be going back to Newmarket, maybe I'll come in for a day and watch him train."
Yawanna Twist closed with a rush for second but never seriously threatened the victor. He was 1 3/4 lengths clear of third-place finisher Nacho Friend.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
Mike Curry is a Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor
