The Brazilian born Ivar and jockey Joe Talamo made a big move in the final turn to rally home for the win in the $100,000 Jonathan Schuster Memorial Saturday, July 9 at Horseshoe Indianapolis. The six-year-old turf specialist scored his first win of 2022 in his first outing after taking the winter off.
Talamo has ridden the horse exclusively as he's traveled from the Midwest to the West Coast. They teamed up for a win in the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland in the fall of 2020. They took six months off before making three starts last year, including a third place finish in the $2 million Breeders Cup Mile last fall, their last start before the Schuster Memorial.
Ivar got away in mid-pack and sat patiently as Somelikeithotbrown and Rafael Bejarano set the pace up front. Gray's Fable continued to stalk for Jockey Michaelle Michel through most of the one and one-sixteenth mile turf before Talamo made his move in the turn.
Just a couple of suggestions and Ivar was off to the races, gobbling up ground with every stride into the stretch. From there he was able to get a good final eighth put together and got the win by a length over Cavalry Charge and David Cohen, who closed for second. Somelikeithotbrown maintained ground for third.
“This poor horse, I mean, when he runs, he runs so hard,” said Talamo. “He's one of those you wish you could get about six, seven races a year. All the credit goes to Paulo Lobo and his team. Every time this horse runs, he has him A+ ready to go. No difference today. It set up well for us. They had a good pace, but I was loaded the whole way and just tried to get him a good trip around there.”
Ivar, the favorite of the field, paid $4.40 for the win. The son of Agnes Gold is owned by Bonne Chance Farm and Stud Rio Dois Irmaos of Brazil. Paulo Lobo handles the training duties for Ivar. Lobo noted coming into the race off an eight and one-half month layoff was okay for the stable standout, who moved just under the $1 million mark in earnings for his connections.
“We were ready to run at Churchill Downs the day of the Derby (G1 Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic),” said Lobo. “He had a minor problem in the left front foot and we needed to stop on him a little bit. Then we were pointing for the Wise Dan (G2 July 2) and then the grass at Churchill Downs, they canceled the race. I was glad we got some rain yesterday. He's a very good horse. He overcame a lot of things this year. He deserved this.”
Ivar began his career in Argentina, winning all three of his starts, including two Grade 1 stakes before venturing to the United States. With only 12 career starts, he has now won half and has competed in the last two Breeders Cup Turf Mile events, finishing third and fourth.
“After the Breeders' Cup, we gave him the winter,” added Lobo. “Our main goal this year is the Breeders' Cup again. We need to pick his spots correctly to give the horse a chance to perform well at the Breeders' Cup. He's a very nice horse. This was not an easy race. I was very worried. Very worried. I came here even-money favorite, very worried.”
The next start for Ivar is still undecided, but a stepping stone toward the Breeders Cup could be the $1 million WinStar Mint Million Mile, a Grade 3 event at Kentucky Downs.
Ivar was the 13th winner of the Schuster Memorial, named after former vice president and general manager at Horseshoe Indianapolis Jon Schuster, who passed away in 2019. The race was renamed at that time to honor Schuster, who led the team through the first 17 years of operations. Jon's daughters, Rachel and Abi, were trackside to present the trophy to the connections of Ivar.
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