Snapper Sinclair powers home in Fasig-Tipton Turf Showcase Juvenile
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Photo:
Reed Palmer Photography
Jeff Bloom, president of the Bloom Racing Stable partnership, had never been to Kentucky Downs before, but his first trip was memorable. With the first horse he’s ever had with trainer Steve Asmussen, the stable’s favored Snapper Sinclair powered to the lead in the stretch under Ricardo Santana, Jr. on his way to a 1 3/4-length victory over the late-running John Tippmann in the Fasig-Tipton Turf Showcase Juvenile.
“That is about as excited as I’ve ever been,” Bloom said “I’d never been here before to this track. The angle is kind of hard to figure out. I was saying, ‘I think I’m going to get a fine from the stewards for whipping myself too many times before he hit the wire.
“There was a scare. We were a little bit wide and I wasn’t sure. I thought we had enough horse. But when we hit the sixteenth pole, you could tell he was hitting a new gear and doing it with ease. He’s got that big stride. I felt pretty comfortable at that point. I’ll talk to Steve, but I’d have to think the Breeders’ Cup would look like a good spot to go.”
There’s not any debate with Asmussen about aiming for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar in early November. He indicated that he would not run Snapper Sinclair back in between.
“The horse is really talented,” Asmussen said. “I loved how he settled in the middle (of the race). Ricardo had to use a little of him to clear quite a bit of that going into the turn. But then he turned right off and settled and came home with great energy. He’s a beautiful mover. He’s not a real big horse, but he’s a beautiful mover and he loved the win.”
Snapper Sinclair pushed the pace set by Ellis Park Juvenile runner-up Northern Trail, taking command in the stretch as that horse faded.
“I had a really good trip,” Santana said. “He’s pretty quick from the gate. I saw all the pace inside, and the horse responded pretty good turning for home. This is a really nice 2-year-old. He ran the first time (at Belmont) and didn’t really like the dirt. He broke his maiden at Saratoga rolling. We had a lot of confidence in him.”
Snapper Sinclair, a $180,000 purchase at the OBS spring 2-year-old sale, covered seven-eighths of a mile in 1:31.97, paying $6.20 to win as the favorite at just over 2-1 odds.
John Tippmann, a 15-1 shot, closed well under Robby Albarado to nose out Arawak, who in turn was a neck in front of Sky Promise in the field of 10.
The source of Snapper Sinclair’s name is a character in the Mickey Rooney movie Down the Stretch. After getting beat at Belmont on dirt, the son of City Zip won by four lengths on the grass at Saratoga with Santana picking up the mount.
“He’s very reactive, a very quick horse,” Asmussen said. “We had Ricardo come over and work him one day on the turf. It was like, ‘Wow, we know what we want to do now.’ He ran according to that in his maiden race at Saratoga. Felt very good about this race.”
Source: Kentucky Downs
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