On Breeders’ Cup Friday in 2008, FURTHEST LAND (Smart Strike) was claimed for
What a difference a year makes.
Under a well-judged ride by Garrett Gomez, Furthest Land rated in midpack
Dubious Miss made his move turning into the stretch and stormed to the front.
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Furthest Land thereby capped a glorious day for Gomez, who had previously won
the Kentucky Cup Distaff (G3) with Indescribable (Pleasant Tap) and the Kentucky
Cup Sprint (G3) aboard El Brujo (Candy Ride [Arg]).
“He broke running and got a little aggressive on me, so I eased him back,”
Gomez said. “He was pulling hard so I thought he was telling me something. I
took him four or five wide in the first turn and let him settle. I wasn’t
worried about the top two (Timeless Fashion and Godolphin Gray). I had my eye on
Boo-Boo’s horse (Dubious Miss, ridden by Calvin Borel) and (Robby) Albarado’s
horse (Wicked Style). Calvin’s horse came out a little but I got (Furthest Land)
on his right lead and hit him twice left-handed. After that he straightened out
nicely.”
“When we got Garrett, my confidence skyrocketed,” Maker said of Furthest
Land, who is now two-for-two on Polytrack. “I loved his race on the Polytrack at
Keeneland (an allowance/optional claiming score on April 5), and we just haven’t
had a chance to race on it since. I threw his race on the dirt at Canterbury out
(a fourth in the July 25 Claiming Crown Jewel S.) because I know he prefers this
surface. I looked at the race and the favorite (Hold Me Back) had been racing against
straight three-year-olds and the only other major horse I thought was Dubious Miss.”
Ken Ramsey was not at Turfway Park, but instead at the Florida versus
Kentucky college football game at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky.
“I called into Blue Grass Downs where I have an account and they let me
listen to the race on the television,” Ramsey said. “My wife recorded it at home
so I called to congratulate her, and I’m about to call Mike and talk with him.
Don’t read anything into (my going to the game).
“We had a VIP suite set up for this game and it’s the number one team, but to
tell you the truth, if I had known I was going to win, I would have canceled the
football. I hope Kentucky can upset Florida, but I regret not going (to the
race) now. We really like this horse.”
Sent off as the 6-1 third choice in the nine-horse field, Furthest Land
rewarded his backers with payouts of $14.40, $6.60 and $3.80 while keying the
$69 exacta, $557 trifecta and $3,060.40 superfecta (7-9-3-6). Dubious Miss, the
9-2 second choice, paid $5.60 and $3.60.
“I thought I was home free turning for home,” Borel said of his view aboard
Dubious Miss. “I think on a dirt track he might have carried. He ran good, he
showed up, and he tried. He’s usually right off them, laying second, third,
fourth, and they were going :24 and (:48) — it wasn’t that fast. He just got
outrun.”
The late-running Sligovitz (Sligo Bay [Ire]) crossed the wire another 2 1/2
lengths back in third, returning $4.60 at 9-1. Timeless Fashion held fourth and
was trailed by Wicked Style, Hold Me Back, Your Round (Distorted Humor), Jazz in
the Park (Ecton Park) and Godolphin Gray.
Hold Me Back’s connections were baffled by his dull performance.
“Not much explanation at this point,” trainer Bill Mott said. “There wasn’t
anything obvious. He just never looked interested in the race. He was never
really traveling well. I mean, he was never really into the bridle and going as
good as you’d like. When (Julien Leparoux) asked him, he was just empty — (as
if he said) ‘not today.’ Julien said he just never felt like he had any horse.”
“Empty,” Leparoux said. “That’s all I can say. I can’t think of any excuse.
He did everything good. He warmed up good and felt good. He just had nothing.”
Furthest Land’s biggest career victory boosted his bankroll to $329,689 from
his mark of 15-7-2-1. Since being claimed, the four-year-old won three straight
in allowance or optional claiming company on the turf for his new connections.
Furthest Land was then unplaced in a pair of turf stakes attempts, including an
eighth in the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (G1), but broke through with his
initial stakes score in the off-the-turf Golden Bear S. On that sloppy track at
Indiana Downs, he set a new track record of 1:40 4/5 for the mile and 70 yards.
Furthest Land raced only once since, in the aforementioned Claiming Crown
Jewel. He is now the second graduate of the 2009 Claiming Crown to have captured
a graded stakes in his next start, following Gran Estreno (Arg) (Lucky Roberto),
who won the Claiming Crown Emerald S. and Washington Park H. (G3).
Bred by Catherine Wills in Kentucky, Furthest Land is the first registered
foal from the unraced Flagrant (Rahy), a half-sister to multiple Grade 3 winner
and Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) runner-up Dynever (Dynaformer). This is the
family of Grade 1 heroine Reluctant Guest (Hostage) and Japanese Grade 1 hero
Gold Allure (Sunday Silence). Furthest Land has an unraced juvenile half-sister
named Embroidery (More Than Ready).
“I’d think we’d take a look at the Dirt Mile,” Maker said, but added, “the
Fayette S. ([G2] on October 31 at Keeneland) looks like a logical next start.”