Oxbow’s County Final Scores in Tyro

County Final topped last month’s Fasig-Tipton July Horses of Racing Age sale at $475,0000 last month, and began chipping away at that investment first time for the new connections here. A four-length debut winner turf sprinting for trainer John Ennis at Churchill June 5, the grey was second in the GIII Bashford Manor S. on the Louisville dirt 22 days later behind soon-to-be stablemate Cazadero (Street Sense). While Cazadero could only manage fifth in Friday’s GII Saratoga Special S., fellow Steve Asmussen pupil Jackie’s Warrior (Maclean’s Music) impressed in that event. With G2 Norfolk S. runner-up Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) and well-regarded Fauci (Malibu Moon) scratched when the race came off the grass, County Final’s main challenge appeared likely to come from those two’s stablemate Spicy Marg, an unraced Wesley Ward-trained filly. Spicy Marg blasted out of the gate, and quickly cleared as County Final was ridden along to keep up. The favorite came under the whip around the bend as the frontrunner floated him wide at the top of the stretch, but County Final was undeterred and leveled off nicely in the lane to cruise by his tiring foe in hand. The winner’s dam was a stakes winner going both long and short on the dirt while trained by Asmussen. She produced a Keen Ice filly in 2019 and a Will Take Charge colt this term before being bred back to Ransom the Moon.

TYRO S., $71,500, Monmouth, 8-8, 2yo, 5f (off turf), :58.16, gd.
1–COUNTY FINAL, 120, c, 2, Oxbow–Tapajo (MSW, $123,727),
by Tapit. ($9,500 Ylg ’19 KEESEP; $475,000 2yo ’20 FTKHRA).
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. O-West Point Thoroughbreds, William
Sandbrook & Anna Marie Shannon; B-Calumet Farm (KY);
T-Steven M. Asmussen; J-Joe Bravo. $45,000. Lifetime Record:
GSP, 3-2-1-0, $110,000.
2–Spicy Marg, 118, f, 2, Into Mischief–Tizasong, by Tiznow.
O-Wayne G. Lyster III, Bryan & Gray Lyster; B-Ashview Farm &
Colts Neck Stables (KY); T-Wesley A. Ward. $15,000.
3–Newyearsblockparty, 120, c, 2, New Year’s Day–
Shedrivesmeupatree, by Forestry. ($4,000 RNA Wlg ’18
KEENOV; $15,000 Ylg ’19 FTKOCT). O-Black Cloud Racing
Stable, LLC (Mark Esposito); B-Fernandez-Robles Family Trust
(KY); T-Anthony Pecoraro. $7,500.
Margins: 4 1/4, 2, 5. Odds: 0.40, 1.90, 13.60.
Also Ran: Beau Bridge. Scratched: Baytown Bear, Fauci, Golden Pal, Twirling Fire.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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‘Really Impressive’ Juvenile Winner County Final Switches From Turf To Dirt For Bashford Manor

John Ennis, Hayden Noriega and 47 Roses' eye-catching debut winner County Final will switch surfaces from turf to dirt in search of graded stakes glory in Saturday's $100,000 Bashford Manor presented by TwinSpires.com (Grade III), a six furlong-event for 2-year-olds at Churchill Downs.

“This horse should absolutely love the slight stretch out in distance,” said jockey James Graham, who was aboard for the colt's four-length maiden victory June 5. “We opened up by three-to-four lengths mid-stretch on everyone but what was really impressive was how he extended his stride past the wire. He's a bigger colt with a really long stride. He's got a great mind, too, which is always nice for a younger horse.”

The six-furlong Bashford Manor will go as Race 8 of 11 with a post time of 4:43 p.m. (all times Eastern). The race shares the spotlight on Saturday with the $500,000 Stephen Foster presented by Coca-Cola (GII), $200,000 Fleur de Lis presented by Coca-Cola (GII) and $100,000 Regret presented by TwinSpires.com (GIII). First post is 1 p.m.

County Final, trained by Ennis, has been based at the Thoroughbred Training Center in Lexington. The $9,500 Keeneland September Yearling buy by Oxbow drew the outside post No. 7 in the Bashford Manor.

“I really like that we'll be the last horse to load in the gate,” Graham said. “If he breaks well, we'll be able to see what the other horses to our inside are doing in the early stages. He has speed and he trains well on the dirt. So, the switch from the turf to the dirt should be no problem either.”

The Bashford Manor field, which features all first-out maiden winners, from the rail out (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds): Crown and Coke (Miguel Mena, James Lawrence II, 30-1); Hulen (Corey Lanerie, Steve Asmussen, 5-1); Gatsby (Tyler Gaffalione, Juan Alvarado, 4-1); Hyperfocus (John Velazquez, Todd Pletcher, 4-1); Herd Immunity (Brian Hernandez Jr., Peter Miller, 9-2); Cazadero (Ricardo Santana Jr., Asmussen, 8-5); and County Final (Graham, Ennis, 6-1).

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