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The Big Beast captures stakes bow in King's Bishop
"He's the biggest horse I've ever trained, and everybody loves him," trainer Tony Dutrow said. "(Javier Castellano) came to the paddock and said, 'This horse will be OK today. There are two or three inside of me who are going to go, and I'm going to sit and make a run. I want to get the jump on (Coup de Grace).' And that's just what happened." "(Taking back) was part of the strategy, to come from behind," Castellano agreed. "This is the first time he went seven-eighths, and we wanted to monitor it. He's a big horse. I thought he could go the distance, and I'm happy with the way he did it. The way I handicapped the race, there was a lot of speed inside me with Wildcat Red and Fast Anna. I didn't want to hook them in a speed duel. I could have gone to the lead, but he rated so beautifully." Despite having never faced stakes competition before, The Big Beast was sent off the 5-2 second choice in the King's Bishop and returned $7.70 to his backers for the win. The previously unbeaten Fast Anna was a good second following just a maiden win and allowance victory, and it was another 1 1/2 lengths back to 2-1 favorite Coup de Grace. Jerome hero Noble Moon nipped Wildcat Red by a neck for fourth, and completing the order under the wire were Noble Cornerstone, Myositis Dan and C. Zee. "He ran a great race, he tried so hard. I'm proud of him, I'm happy with the way he ran," trainer Kathy Ritvo praised her charge Fast Anna. "It looked there was going to be a lot of speed in the race and they had a pretty good pace. We kind of just had to maneuver all the way through traffic the whole race. He was really sharp and he ran great, but we didn't have a lot of room to maneuver in the stretch," jockey Rosie Napravnik described her ride aboard Coup de Grace. The Big Beast made his racing bow for trainer Steve Hobby at Oaklawn Park, finishing a neck second in that six-furlong maiden contest, then was transferred to Dutrow's barn when his owners shipped him to New York. He debuted for his new shedrow on May 3 at Belmont Park, running third, then returned a month later to record a 4 1/4-length score. Given a brief freshening, The Big Beast returned in late July at the Spa to earn his first victory against winners in an allowance by 6 1/4 lengths. The King's Bishop came up next, and the three-year-old continued his winning ways Saturday to improve his record to 5-3-1-1 and more than triple his bankroll to $415,500. "I learned from my days with Bobby Frankel, when your horse is really, really good not to waste a race," Dutrow stated. "You need to make these races count when your horse is really good. Our horse was really good today, and we saw no reason not to take a crack at the very best." Bred in Maryland by Green Willow Farm, The Big Beast passed through the auction ring twice. He brought $32,000 as a Keeneland September yearling before selling to his current owners as a $150,000 OBS April two-year-old in training. The Big Beast is the first registered stakes winner out of the stakes-placed Deputy Minister mare V V S Flawless and counts as a half-brother another stakes-placed winner in Koh I Noor. His second and third dams -- Singing Heart and Amazing Love, respectively -- are also stakes winners, and this female family also boasts Slade Power, who is unbeaten this season from three starts including a pair of Group 1s in the July Cup and Diamond Jubilee in his past two; Grade 1 victor Slew the Dragon; and farther back Irish champion and dual classic queen *Suntop II. Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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