March Prevails Over Lord Nelson in Bay Shore
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March survived a furious, late-closing drive from Lord Nelson as well as a protracted stewards' inquiry to capture his first stakes score in the 55th edition of the Grade 3, $300,000 Bay Shore on Saturday at Aqueduct Racetrack.
March, the 9-1 choice in the field of eight 3-year-olds, was content to race at the back of the pack as the front-runners set fractions of 23.05, and 46.79 seconds. In the turn he displayed a tremendous turn of foot to be second at the top of the lane but was caught four-wide to the eighth pole under Irad Ortiz, Jr. From there, March took over and inched away to the wire to cover the seven furlongs in 1: 24.72 on a fast track.
The Bob Baffert-trained Lord Nelson, who looked hopelessly beaten on the backstretch, closed strongly under urging by Joel Rosario to be second by one-half length, while even-money favorite Ready for Rye was another 4 ¼ lengths behind, with Easy to Say checking in fourth.
The stewards flashed the inquiry sign involving the top horses on the board, but ultimately ruled against interference and did not change the order.
"I had a good trip. My horse came out a little bit at the end, but I think they made the right decision," said Ortiz. "My horse was coming from longer races, and we just wanted to break good and come from behind and he did it."
Winning trainer Chad Brown, who took the Bay Shore for the second straight year, cut March back in distance after a fifth-place finish in the Grade 3, 1 1/16-mile Withers on the inner track on February 15. That did the trick for the Kentucky-bred son of Blame, who is owned by Robert La Penta.
"It was a little nerve-wracking with the inquiry, but I think he ran really well," said Cherie DeVaux, Brown's assistant. "After the Withers, Chad said to maybe try him as a come-from-behind sprinter. It was definitely the right call. He sat nicely in back and came with a really good kick. We'll see how he comes out of the race and go from there."
March returned $21.20 for a $2 win bet.
Despite having to settle for runner-up status, Rosario was impressed with the effort of Lord Nelson.
"He was jumping a little early," he said. "I tried to put him in the race a little bit, get him up close to the pace, but he didn't want to be there. He backed, backed up, and then I had to take him way in the middle of the track so he wouldn't get hit with dirt. He just kept on running. It was very impressive."
Papa Upa finished fifth, with Majestic Affair, Ackeret, and Final Chapter rounding out the order of finish.
Source: NYRA Communications
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