Golden Racing Stable’s ARBUCKLE BANDIT (Service Stripe) rallied best of all
to win Saturday’s $169,800
Commonwealth Turf S. in a blanket finish, edging out
Storm Treasure (Storm Boot), Kingship (King Cugat) and Outperformance (Aptitude)
in the 1 1/16-mile turf test at Churchill Downs. Recording his first stakes
victory, the Michael Stidham-trained gelding improved his overall mark 12-5-2-4,
with $218,158 in earnings.
Costa Rising (Royal Strand [Ire]) set an uncontested pace over the good turf
during the opening stages, posting splits in :24 and :48 3/5 before coming under
pressure. The pacesetter’s lead had shrunk to a head through six furlongs in
1:12 4/5, and Arbuckle Bandit was still unhurried in ninth at this point. The
eventual winner began to advance on the far turn, and Brice Blanc swung the bay out
six wide for the stretch drive, picking off foes one by one to reach the front
in deep stretch. Storm Treasure also closed boldly from the back of the pack to
reach contention, but he couldn’t outfinish the winner when falling a head short.
Kingship raced close to the pace before reaching the lead in midstretch and just
missed in a sharp effort, finishing another head back in third. Outperformance
rallied between foes to loom a threatening presence in midstretch, but he was
steadied in traffic and wound
up a neck back of Kingship at the wire.
Arbuckle Bandit stopped the timer in 1:44. Sent off the nearly 11-1 sixth choice in
the field of 10 sophomores, he returned $23.80, $10 and $5.20 and keyed the
$133.40 exacta with Storm Treasure, who gave back $5.40 and $3.60 at nearly 5-1.
Kingship paid $4.20 and completed the $706.20 trifecta. The 7-8-6-4 superfecta,
with 8-5 favorite Outperformance on the bottom, totaled $1,736.80. Amigoni (Ire)
(Danehill), Costa Rising, Sea of Trees (Belong to Me), Hesanoldsalt (Broad
Brush), Rock’ N Fire (Lord Carson) and Yankee Master (Yankee Victor) rounded out
the order of finish. Brilliant (War Chant) was withdrawn.
Bred in Kentucky by Nordic Thoroughbreds, Arbuckle Bandit sold for $3,500 at
the 2004 Keeneland January sale and then RNA’ed for $13,000 at the Keeneland September
Yearling sale later that year. He again passed through the sales ring at the 2005 Keeneland January Horses of All Ages
sale and brought a winning bid of $1,200.
After
breaking his maiden at Remington Park nearly 12 months ago, he was claimed for
$20,000 in his next start. Arbuckle Bandit’s form improved when switching to
the turf in the Arlington Classic (G3) this summer, where he finished a close third,
and he entered the Commonwealth Turf off a narrow third in the Hawthorne Derby (G3).
He’s out of the winning Sombra En El Cielo (Marquetry) and has an unraced
juvenile half-sister named Imaguska (Yonaguska).