Fox Ridge Farm’s homebred RISKAVERSE (Dynaformer) moved through an opening on
the inside and fought valiantly to the wire in holding on for a head win in the
$750,000
Flower Bowl Invitational S. (G1) over the firm Belmont turf course on
Saturday. The six-year-old mare settled inside off the pace as a rank Sand
Springs (Dynaformer) led the field through solid splits :24 3/5, :48 2/5, 1:12
1/5 and 1:36 1/5 for the opening mile of the 10-furlong affair. As the field
began the turn for home, jockey Jose Santos found an opening in the two-path and
spurted to a clear lead, but the lass was far from home. Fellow classy
six-year-old Wonder Again (Silver Hawk) hit her best stride on the outside and
made the race come down to a head-bob, which went to Riskaverse and trainer Pat
Kelly.
The winner was disregarded at 35-1 odds and gave back $73.50, $22.20 and $9.70
while keying the $370.50 exacta, $3,074 trifecta, and $7,832.50 for the 9-3-7-6 superfecta ($1).
She completed the contest in a sharp 2:00 1/5. Wonder Again was a hard-luck
loser, paying $7.10 and $5.20 at 5-1. The late-running Film Maker (Dynaformer)
flew late to get the show another length back, paying $4.40 at 13-1, while Sand
Springs gamely held on to conclude the super.
Sundrop (Jpn) (Sunday Silence) was next and followed by Lune D’Or (Fr) (Green
Tune), 8-5 favorite Melhor Ainda (Pulpit), Secret Charm (Ire) (Green Desert) and Angara (GB) (Alzao).
Riskaverse, who was winless since capturing this race last year, moved her
overall mark to 31-9-6-4 with a bankroll of $2,182,429. In addition to her
Flower Bowl fame, the lass has also captured the 2002 Queen Elizabeth II
Invitational Challenge Cup S. (G1), 2003 Cardinal H. (G3) and 2002 Sands Point
S. (G3). The dark bay mare has also placed in nine other graded events.
The winner was bred in Kentucky and is out of the stakes-placed The Bink
(Seeking the Gold). She was preceded in graded glory by half-sister Cozzy
Corner (Cozzene), and counts herself a full sister to an unraced two-year-old
filly named Risky Agenda, as well as a half-sister to a yearling filly named A.P. Test (A.P. Indy).
Flower Bowl is the only back-to-back winner of the Flower Bowl and is headed
to the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) at Belmont on October 29.