In the movie “Hustle,” the character Bo Cruz is a street basketball player from Spain. Scouted by Stanley Sugarman, played by Adam Sandler, Cruz takes plenty of lumps before eventually making it to the NBA. Now the 3-year-old colt with the same name is following his own rags to riches script.
“Bo Cruz is a great fictional character who represents the plight of what we do,” said owner Bruno De Julio, a horse racing lifer who makes his living as a private clocker and bloodstock agent. “We are always looking for talent, and you never really know where you're going to find it. With limited resources, you have to be creative. Bo Cruz got pushed around and knocked down, but he overcame it. If you believe in the talent and harness it, you can make it.”
A good second sprinting despite a troubled trip in his career debut on Feb. 2, the son of Creative Cause stretched out to 1 mile & 70 yards on March 4 at Fair Grounds. Leaving from the rail, he wasted no time grabbing command into the first turn. He held the lead throughout for trainer Al Stall, Jr. and jockey Jose Riquelme, winning by a widening 12 ¼ lengths under a hand ride while stopping the timer in 1:42 1/5 over a fast track.
“He trains and acts like a good horse but I was blown away with what he did and the way he did it,” De Julio said about the effort. “He motored away on his own and Jose (jockey Riquelme) never asked him.”
Purchased for just $45,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale of 2021, Bo Cruz is the sixth foal to race out of the versatile Ghostzapper mare Quick Breeze, who won 2 of 9 starts and had a promising career cut short. She is the daughter of the multiple graded stakes router Quick Temper, who earned over $259,000, and is the dam of millionaire Preakness (G1) winner Cloud Computing, who now stands at stud.
“Rudy Delguidice and I buy a lot of horses together,” De Julio said. “We loved this horse. He had great conformation. We went above budget and after we bought him I'll always remember Rudy saying, 'He looks like Ghostzapper.'”
The following summer, Delguidice, a former jockey and longtime breeder and pinhooker, was involved in a serious spill at Classic Mile, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.
“Bo was the last horse Rudy breezed before his accident,” De Julio said. “This horse's success will aid in all of his expenses. Owning Bo with Rudy makes it even that much more special for me.”
Bo Cruz received a 91 Bris speed figure for his Saturday win, which included an impressive 95 late pace rating. It's no surprise that offers for the colt are coming in.
“Right now it's business as usual,” De Julio said. “Al (trainer Stall) has talked about the Lexington (G3) at Keeneland and a two-turn allowance race on Kentucky Derby Day.”
The post ‘Pushed Around And Knocked Down, But He Overcame It’: Promising Maiden Winner Bo Cruz Supports Paralyzed Former Jockey Rudy Delguidice appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
