For She’s a Julie, 2020 did not start off on the best of notes. She made her 5-year-old debut May 23 in the Shawnee Stakes at Churchill Downs, where she was the quite logical 2-1 second choice behind 2019 Alabama Stakes winner Dunbar Road.
Month: June 2020
Francesca Cumani believes Royal Ascot is a golden chance to attract a new audience to racing
Francesca Cumani, the face of ITV's racing coverage, believes this week's Royal Ascot meeting is a golden chance to attract a new audience to the sport.
Eye Of A Jedi Upsets Coaltown at Gulfstream; Math Wizard Fifth
Eye of a Jedi stared down the most imposing rivals of his career Saturday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., and pulled off a 17-1 upset victory in the $55,000 Coaltown Handicap.
The Steve Budhoo-owned and –trained 5-year-old gelding rallied far off the pace to defeat multiple Grade 1 stakes-placed Diamond Oops by 1 1/4 lengths in the mile overnight handicap, in which Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby winner Math Wizard finished fifth.
“He's a good horse. These are old tough veterans that he beat. They don't come back in a race; they go,” Budhoo said. “He's just coming into his own. He ran a good race last time and ran fourth in the Hal's Hope (G3) before that.”
Eye of a Jedi, who captured the Sea of Tranquility Stakes during Gulfstream's 2019 Summer Meet, rated well off the pace set by Wentz, who put up fractions of 23.86 and 46.17 seconds for the first half mile while pressed by Diamond Oops, the even-money favorite.
Diamond Oops moved to the lead without encouragement from jockey Luca Panici on the turn into the homestretch and appeared to be on his way to a comfortable victory when the Patrick Biancone-trained gelding suddenly stalled, giving Eye of a Jedi a chance to build momentum while rallying four-wide into the stretch. Diamond Oops kicked back into gear through the stretch, but was no match for Eye of a Jedi and jockey Marcos Meneses.
“The last time, I made a little mistake with the horse,” Meneses said. “Today, it was perfect. He broke good from the gate, I helped him a little bit, and he had a perfect trip. I liked being outside. The trainer did a great job. It was a difficult race, but the horse was doing perfect and he got the job done.”
Red Crescent, who stalked the pace three wide, finished third, a length behind Diamond Oops and ahead of 1 ¼ lengths ahead of Garter and Tie. Math Wizard made a mild bid to enter contention at the top of the stretch before fading to fifth, another neck back.
Eye of a Jedi carried 118 pounds, seven fewer than Diamond Oops, who conceded between two and 12 pounds to his eight rivals.
“I only race him sparingly,” Budhoo said. “He's always gives his best and he's sound.”
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Does Cezanne Justify The Hype Of Previous Baffert Stars?
Cezanne, who topped Fasig-Tipton's sale of two-year-olds in training last year at Gulfstream Park when he fetched a final bid of $3.65 million, kicked off his racing career with a 2 1/2-length victory in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden race last Saturday at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.
Cezanne was sent away as an overwhelming 2-5 favorite and posted a final time of 1:16.13. Leading jockey Flavian Prat rode the Kentucky-bred three-year-old colt by two-time Horse of the Year Curlin.
Bob Baffert trains Cezanne for owners Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Michael B. Smith and St. Elias Stable.
“Cezanne was credited with a 90 Beyer Speed Figure,” said Jon White, Santa Anita's longtime morning-line oddsmaker. “Considering he was making his career debut as a three-year-old, I wondered how a 90 Beyer stacks up against the debut Beyers for Arrogate, West Coast and Justify. They also debuted at the age of three for Baffert.
And they all went on to be voted an Eclipse Award that same year as the champion three-year-old male (Arrogate in 2016, West Coast in 2017 and Justify in 2018).
“Because there had been so much hype for Cezanne's debut, some probably expected to see him win by a bigger margin and get a higher Beyer. But a 90 is a lot higher than Arrogate's 80 Beyer in his career debut. And keep in mind that after Arrogate's debut, what he did later that year was extraordinary.”
In the first start of Arrogate's career, he finished third in a six-furlong maiden race at Los Alamitos on April 17, 2016. Later in the year he won the Travers by 13 ½ lengths while breaking Saratoga's track record for 1 ¼ miles.
In his final start at three, Arrogate won the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita beating California Chrome and other older horses.
“What Cezanne's 90 Beyer is comparable to was West Coast's figure in the first start of his career when he got a 91,” White noted.
West Coast began his career by finishing second in a one-mile maiden race at Santa Anita on Feb. 18, 2017. Later in the year he won the Travers and the Pennsylvania Derby before finishing third in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar.
“Justify's debut Beyer went through the roof, a 104, when he won his first race by a huge margin,” White said. “That really was some performance. Justify showed everyone right from the start what an outstanding equine athlete he was.”
Bursting on the scene early in 2018 at Santa Anita, Justify registered a 9 1/2-length victory in a seven-furlong maiden race on Feb. 18. He subsequently won the Santa Anita Derby and swept the Triple Crown, then was retired after the Belmont Stakes. Justify won all six of his career starts.
“Cezanne raced a bit greenly in his first start and should improve with that race under his belt,” White said. “I also think there's a good chance that he will do well when he goes farther. Baffert has said that he believes Cezanne has the potential to have a big second half of the year like Arrogate and West Coast.
“So it's sure going to be interesting to see what Cezanne can do during the rest of the year.”
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