Finnegans Wake from last to first in San Gabriel
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Photo:
Benoit Photo
A newly minted 6-year old, it seems as though Finnegans Wake has finally figured out
how to win. With just his maiden and an allowance victory in the W column, the
Jerry Crawford bred runner went 25 months without visiting the winner’s circle
again. A breakthrough win in the G3 Arlington Handicap in July gave the
strapping bay a taste of victory, and it only took another 4 ½ months for
Finnegan’s Wake to return to that coveted spot, posting a neck score in the G2
Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes in November. Now, for the first time in his career,
Finnegan’s Wake has posted back-to-back wins, closing from last to first to capture
the Grade 2 San Gabriel Stakes at
Santa Anita.
Slow into stride at the break, Finnegans Wake was content to
trail the field while his rivals jockeyed for good early positions in front of
him. With a patient Victor Espinoza in the irons, the eventual winner was
allowed ample time to settle and get comfortable, and though he was last, he
was only about 7 lengths off the leader, a distance that could easily be made
up when the time came.
On how the race played out from a pace and position
perspective, winning jockey Victor Espinoza stated, “I thought today was going
to be too short for him, but obviously it wasn’t. He’s getting good. I thought
they would go slower up front but there was still good pace. I wanted to be
closer to the front but not too close.”
At the front of the pack, rail-drawn Edge of Reality set the
pace with Skyring a length back and to his outside. With no one in any hurry to
make a horse race out of it early, Edge of Reality reeled off a steady 12-clip,
posting the opening quarter in :24.60 and the first half in :48.80. Post time
favorite Tom’s Tribute was right
there in third, closely shadowed by Big Bane Theory. While there was little
movement amongst the frontrunners, Finnegans Wake began moving early, edging
into second last in the clubhouse turn and continuing to inch up in the
backstretch.
“He was a little confused because of where we broke from so
I think he sat back further than usual because of that. He went nice and
comfortably which worked out well but I had to encourage him a bit to get into
the race. I had to ask him early because he’s big and he doesn’t have a ton of
speed. He took a little while, but it worked out well,” Espinoza said of his
mount’s trailing position and early move.
Spinning off the far turn and into the lane, the field
spread out across the turf, charging for home and a nearly blanket finish. Finnegans
Wake ended up about 5 wide turning for home, but that extra distance he had to
travel to get around those to his inside did little to slow him down. Closing
like a freight train with every stride, the 6-year old runner caught and passed
the leaders to win going away in a final time of 1:48.38 for the 1 1/8 mile
grass event.
Patrioticandproud,
a late runner like Finnegans Wake, had the misfortune to get stuck behind a
wall of foes as he tried to mirror the winner’s move to the outside. Despite
being full of run, the Proud Citizen gelding was unable to overcome his lack of
racing room and finished second, runner-up to Finnegans Wake for the second
consecutive race. Power Ped won the
blanket finish for third, edging out fourth place finisher Tom’s Tribute by a
head. It was another head back to Skyring who also out-finished 6th
place Dynamic Sky by a head. Big Bane Theory and Edge of Reality completed the
order of finish.
Off 8-1 odds, Finnegans Wake returned $18.00/$7.20/$5.20 for
his victory. Thirteen-to-one shot Patrioticandproud paid $11.20/$5.20 for the
place, and 7-5 Power Ped paid $7.00 for the show. The $1 exacta returned
$88.40, the $1 trifecta paid $1,219.00 and the $1 superfecta was worth
$4,426.10.
By Powerscourt and out of the Silver Ghost mare Boat’s
Ghost, Finnegans Wake races as a homebred for Donegal Racing, of which breeder
Jerry Crawford is a part, and Rockingham Ranch. With today’s victory, he raised
his career record to 26: 5-3-3 for total earnings of $945,375. Winning trainer
Peter Miller is keeping an open mind in terms of Finnegans Wake’s next start. “We’ll
look at all our options (for future races) including maybe even Dubai. The
horse trains well on dirt and he ran well in the Clark, so perhaps even the
Santa Anita Handicap (March 7). I don’t know. I’ve got to get with the owners, enjoy
this for now, and maybe next week set up a game plan,” he said.
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