Noble Bird breaks through in Stephen Foster
In a classic game of cat-and-mouse, Noble Bird sat behind the early pace-setter in second, letting another do the dirty work while he bided his time. As the field turned for home in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs, Noble Bird made his move and dared the rest of the field to catch him. In the end, none could.
Under the guidance of Robby Albarado, Paganol went straight out for the lead from post 2. Noble Bird settled in right behind him in second, followed by Cat Burglar to the outside in third, Lea to the inside in fourth, Commissioner right on the rail in fifth, and Hoppertunity and Majestic Harbor in sixth and seventh respectively.
With some early pressure from Noble Bird, Paganol set moderate fractions off :23.39/:46.81/1:10.93 for the opening three-quarters of the 1 1/8 mile event. While Paganol continued to lead, there was some jockeying in positions behind him, the most notable being that of Hoppertunity moving from sixth into fourth and Cat Burglar fading from third into fifth.
As the field rounded the far turn and headed for home, jockey Shaun Bridgmohan gave Noble Bird his cue and the duo swept past Paganol and into the lead. Behind them, Lea moved into second and gave chase but Noble Bird would not be denied. Though Lea was able to draw within a neck of the winner, his best was still not enough as Noble Bird stopped the clock in 1:47.94, the winner by a mere neck.
“He had been training very well and obviously he showed it tonight," said Bridgmohan. "He won three out of his last four races. He’s getting better. He’s been working like this in the morning so this performance was expected. That [Lea] is why I didn’t turn my stick over; I just kind of gave him a little reminder because he was trying and giving me everything he had. He’s been training very well and he’s a horse that is on the improve. He just ran lights out tonight. He’s been maturing and I think he’s going to be a horse to watch for. I think in every race he’s improved and he’s not lacking any talent. He’s a very talented horse.”
Hoppertunity improved position to finish 3rd, 5 ½ lengths behind the runner-up and 5 ¾ lengths ahead of fourth place finisher Majestic Harbor. The order of finish was completed by Cat Burglar, Commissioner and pace-setter Paganol.
As the 4th choice, Noble Bird paid $11.40/$5.00/$3.20. Post time favorite Lea returned $3.40/$2.40 as the runner-up, and Hoppertunity returned $3.00 for the show. The $2 exacta paid $39.20, the $2 trifecta returned $167.80 and the $1 superfecta was worth $694.20.
By Birdstone and out of the Tiznow mare Anyhow, Noble Bird is owned by John C. Oxley. Trainer Mark Casse purchased the colt on behalf of Oxley for $105,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Select Yearling Sale. The Stephen Foster was the first graded stakes win of Noble Bird’s career and improved the chestnut colt’s overall record to 10: 4-3-0 for earnings of $531,278.
Additionally, Noble Bird earned an automatic berth into the Breeders' Cup Classic by virtue of the Stephen Foster being a "Win and You're In" race for the year's biggest purse in North American racing.