Both divisions of Monday’s Sir Beaufort S. at Santa Anita featured
nail-biting finishes. In the
$84,500 first division,
CHINESE DRAGON (Stravinsky) fired down the center of the turf course to score by
a nose over Hockey the General (General Meeting). Ridden by Kent Desormeaux and
trained by Bob Hess Jr., Chinese Dragon stopped the teletimer in 1:35 for the
firm grassy mile. Sent off as the 8-5 favorite, Chinese Dragon returned $5.40,
$3.30 and $2.60.
Becrux (Ity) (Glen Jordan) established a comfortable lead through splits
of :23 1/5, :47 3/5, 1:11 1/5 and 1:23 1/5 before being overwhelmed by the onslaughts
of Chinese Dragon and Hockey the General, but he managed to hold on for third. Giant Shift (Giant’s Causeway) finished fourth,
followed by Brecon Beacon (GB) (Spectrum); Lumbre (Expense Account); Buzzards
Bay (Marco Bay), the Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner spinning his wheels in his
turf debut; and In Excelsis (Fusaichi Pegasus). Warrior Song (Unbridled’s Song)
scratched.
“He’s quirky; when he makes the lead, he thinks he’s done,” Desormeaux said.
“I had some scary moments coming down to the wire, but quite frankly, when he
saw the other horse, he gave me one more little burst and held on.”
“His last race really woke him up,” Hess said, referring to Chinese Dragon’s
sharp second in the Paradise Valley H. after a six-month layoff. “He’s been
training fabulous. He has a tendency to wait a bit.”
Chinese Dragon’s career mark now stands at six wins and one second from eight
starts, including a maiden victory at the Curragh for his original trainer,
Aidan O’Brien. The Sir Beaufort was his fourth stakes tally, following wins in
the Pasadena, La Puente, and Alcatraz Breeders’ Cup. He has earned
$275,890 for owners Michael Carter, Richard T. Hale Jr., Roncelli Family
Trust et al.
Bred by Ben Sangster in Kentucky, Chinese Dragon is out of Fabulous Fairy (Alydar),
a winner at three in England. His second dam is classic winner Fairy Footsteps
(Ire) (Mill Reef), who captured the English One Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) in 1981. This
is the immediate family of champion miler Desert Prince (Ire) (Green Desert),
successful in the 1998 Irish Two Thousand Guineas (Ire-G1), Prix du Moulin (Fr-G1) and
Queen Elizabeth II S. (Eng-G1).
In the
$86,500 second division, Triple B Farms’ TEDO (Ger) (Sternkoenig)
dourly wore down a stubborn Eastern Sand (Line in the Sand) to get up by a head
at the wire. Under Corey Nakatani, the snowy gray colt posted a final time of
1:34 1/5, four-fifths of a second faster than the first division, for trainer Doug
O’Neill. Tedo returned $12.80, $4.80, and $4.20 as the third choice at odds of
more than 5-1.
The early pace was likewise faster in the second division, with Follow the
Rainbow (Event of the Year) winging out front in fractions of :23, :46 2/5,
1:10, and 1:22. After tracking in second, 9-5 favorite Eastern Sand loomed
boldly in the stretch to overtake the longtime leader. But Tedo, after peeling
to the outside, delivered a persistent, grinding finish to prevail. Follow the
Rainbow kept on a half-length back in third, with Cosmonaut (Lemon Drop Kid)
fourth. Railroad (Double Honor), Orbits World (Unusual Heat), Avanti Avanti
(Royal Academy), Ticafic (Fr) (Solon), Seminole Native (Lil Tyler) and The
Pheasant Flyer (GB) (Prince Sabo) completed the order of finish.
“I felt like I had enough horse to get by (Eastern Sand),” Nakatani said.
“Every time I asked him a little bit, he gave me a little bit more, so that’s
what you need in a good horse.”
“He ran so well off the plane (second in the Del Mar Derby [G2]) that we
think he just bounced at Oak Tree (when last of seven in the Oak Tree Derby
[G2]),” O’Neill said. “Believe me, we were scratching our heads after the Oak
Tree race, pretty confident that he was better than that. Corey (Nakatani) gave
him a great, patient ride today.”
Bred by H. Schroer-Dreesman in Germany, Tedo is out of the German
stakes-winning and Group 3-placed Tirajana (Riboprince). She has also produced
German stakes victress Trinidad (Big Shuffle).
A two-time stakes winner in Italy, Tedo recorded his first American stakes
victory in the Sir Beaufort. His record reads six wins and three seconds in 14
lifetime starts, with earnings of $318,838.