Winning Move Stable's Joey Freshwater stalked and pounced to his first career stakes victory in Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 Bay Shore, a seven-furlong sprint for sophomores, at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Trained by Linda Rice, the Jimmy Creed colt boasts a perfect in-the-money record of 2-1-1 in four starts since being haltered for $50,000 out of a winning effort at second asking over a sloppy and sealed main track on November 27 at Churchill Downs.
Joey Freshwater broke alertly from post 5 under Kendrick Carmouche, but was content to stalk in third position as Prove Right and Victory Way batted for the lead, with the former marking the opening quarter-mile in :23.54 over the fast main track.
Joey Freshwater advanced to the outside of the pacesetters through the turn, dueling with Victory Way as Prove Right gave way between rivals with the half-mile elapsing in :46.88. Joey Freshwater held a one-length advantage at the stretch call, and drew clear in the latter stages to notch the 1 1/4-length victory in a final time of 1:24.91.
Gilmore, who was off a step slow under Jose Ortiz, gained ground late and galloped out strong to secure the exacta by a nose over a stubborn Victory Way. Expected Value, Daydreaming Boy, Prove Right and Arrebato rounded out the order of finish.
Rice credited a smart ride by Carmouche, who returned to the saddle aboard Joey Freshwater for the first time since a New Year's Day score at the Big A at first asking for the current connections.
“He stalked from second beautifully when he [Carmouche] won on him before,” Rice said. “I was hoping we'd get a set-up like that where he broke well enough to be in good position and could stalk off a little duel rather than have to press the pace himself. Great race, great ride, nice horse.”
Carmouche said his horse showed determination down the lane.
“I had a very good trip. The seven-eighths went perfect for the horse. I just wanted to make sure I could make the last eighth of a mile with this horse, and he did,” Carmouche said. “I'm just glad he's got fight in him, because I think that's what made him a winner today. I'm just glad to be part of it. Linda had this horse ready to run today.”
The veteran rider said his familiarity with Joey Freshwater paid dividends.
“In the post parade, he used to tend to get a little anxious and a little nervous, but I jogged him most of the post parade to keep him calm and after that, he was good to go,” Carmouche said.
Rice said that Joey Freshwater, who was traveling beyond 6 1/2-furlongs for the first time, could now jump into the deep end in the seven-furlong Grade 1, $400,000 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun on June 10 at Belmont Park.
“He trained like a seven-furlong horse, and I think he could get a mile,” Rice said. “He might be best at seven, but I think he gets a mile just fine.”
Gilmore, a $250,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase trained by Brendan Walsh, was full of run in deep stretch after overcoming an awkward start.
“He broke a bit slow. Then, he didn't want to run through the dirt,” said Ortiz. “The dirt hit him in his face and he wasn't running through it. I had to ride him every step of the way, but finally he got going in the last eighth of a mile. Then, he flew home. He felt the horses outside of him and decided to start running. I wish it was a bit longer – he would've got there. He was flying.”
Joey Freshwater, a $35,000 OBS June 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale purchase, is out of the More Than Ready mare Lake Turkana, who is a half sister to graded-stakes winner Crewman.
Bred in Kentucky Dr. Aaron Sones, Dr. Naoya Yoshida and Dr. Eric Crawford, Joey Freshwater banked $110,000 in victory while improving his record to 6-3-1-1. He paid $8.30 for a $2 win ticket.
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