Eagle Flies Down the Stretch in Tenacious

William S. Farish’s Neil Howard-trained Eagle flew down the long Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots lane and preyed on six others with a measured 1¼-length victory in the $60,000 Tenacious Stakes on Saturday evening. The graded stakes-placed homebred sophomore son of Candy Ride settled well in fifth-place in the mile and 70-yard event before making a rail move around the far turn, tipping out at the three-sixteenths pole to seize control from pacesetter Nates Mineshaft and ultimately holding off Carl R. Moore Management and Brad Grady’s Freestyler in the final sixteenth. The win was the game chestnut’s fifth in nine starts and third in a row – all over older horses – following a layoff that took him off the Triple Crown trail earlier this year.

Ridden by Brian Hernandez, Jr., the Kentucky-bred finished up in 1:41.63 – just three-fifths of a second off the track record set by Zevson in 1936 – after Nates Mineshaft set fractions of 24.29, 47.54 and 1:12.06. Eagle returned $4.80, $2.60 and $2.20, earning $37,200 to boost his career bankroll to $195,406 in what was his first stakes victory.

“He traveled well for us,” Hernandez said. “It was great that he was finally able to get a stakes win tonight. We’ve been really high on him ever since his first start, so to see him run as big as he did was very satisfying. He was a little immature last year and he’s put it all together this year. Even last year he showed a lot of talent – ever since he worked his first half(-mile). Neil (Howard) and the whole crew have done a great job being patient with him and having him come along the right way.”

“As Brian said, he just needed time to mature and he’s done really well over the last few months,” Howard echoed. “We’ve always like him, he just needed time to grow up.”

Freestyler, on two weeks’ rest following a sixth-place finish in a sloppy renewal of the $200,000 Claiming Crown Jewel for trainer Joe Sharp, closed gamely from sixth under Miguel Mena, returning $4.40 and $3 at odds of 7-2. Daniel Dougherty’s classic-placed Ride On Curlin was always in contention but could not accelerate with the top two in the lane, finishing third – five lengths astern Freestyler – under Francisco Torres for trainer Billy Gowan, returning $2.20 to show at odds of 3-1.

“I had a beautiful trip,” Mena said. “We hooked a nice horse, but I would like to be against him going farther. I think I could beat him.”

The field for the Tenacious Stakes was completed by Treasury Bill, Nates Mineshaft, Supermason and Witt Six.

Earlier in the card, older turf horses were on display in the $60,000 Buddy Diliberto Memorial over 1 1/16-miles on the Stall-Wilson turf course. Oklahoma-bred Ibaka ($15, $9 and $5) led home a healthy $263.80 ($1) trifecta as the Doug Wall-owned and Bret Calhoun-trained son of Uncle Abbie wore down fellow 6-1 shot Blarp ($8.40 and $5.20) in the final strides for a three-quarter-length victory in 1:46.48. Potomac River ($5.20) was another 2¼ lengths back at odds of nearly 9-1. The victory was the fifth stakes victory of Ibaka’s career, but first in open company and improved the 4-year-old to a perfect 2-for-2 on the turf. The $37,200 boosted his career earnings to $324,069 in what was his eighth win in 16 starts.

“He broke really sharp, but I got a little squeezed and had to take him back. I had no choice,” said winning rider Richard Eramia. “This horse relaxed very good. I was clear in the stretch and made a run.”

“He’s won from everywhere – from far back and from on the lead – so we weren’t worried too much about where he was during the race,” Calhoun said. “He had a little bit of a rough trip, so it was a very impressive race.”

The order of finish for the Buddy Diliberto Memorial was completed by Lewis Vale, Lockout, favored Regally Ready and He’s Dann Good.

To close out the six stakes on the ‘Santa Super Saturday’ card, open juveniles took the stage in the $51,100 Sugar Bowl Stakes at six furlongs. Breaking like a rocket from the rail under Roberto Morales and never relenting – despite a stiff challenge from 6-5 favorite Twirling Cinnamon down the lane – David Davis’ Karl Broberg-trained Taylors Angiel ($11.20, $5.20 and $4) held on by a nose in 1:11.04 to stay a perfect 2-for-2 in his short career. The Texas-bred son of Private Vow earned $30,760 to boost his career earnings to $47,860. It was another 4¾ lengths between Twirling Cinnamon ($2.80 and $2.60) and longshot Hunker Down ($6.60) in third.

“I know my horse has speed and when we broke and had good position, you saw what happened from there,” Morales said.

“I really like the horse,” said Fair Grounds-based Broberg assistant Kevin Martin. “He had been training really good and the owner and I had already picked this race out prior. I was a little scared going in with him being a Texas-bred against these, but he’s proven himself.”

The order of finish for the Sugar Bowl Stakes was completed by D. Shifflett, Elle’s Holiday, Will Munnings and Argot.

Source: Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots