Kodiak Kowboy gets up in Cigar Mile

Kodiak Kowboy dug in to capture the Cigar Mile (Melissa Wirth/Horsephotos.com) Missing the November 7 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) proved to be a blessing in disguise for Fox Hill Farm and Vinery Stables’ KODIAK KOWBOY (Posse), as the four-year-old regrouped quickly from two cross-country trips to prevail by three parts of a length in Saturday’s $300,000 Cigar Mile H. (G1) at Aqueduct. Guided by Shaun Bridgmohan, the 3-1 third choice in the wagering returned $8.70, $4.10 and $2.10. Kodiak Kowboy was content to track in the second flight alongside Bribon (Fr) (Mark of Esteem [Ire]) down the Aqueduct backstretch as Vineyard Haven (Lido Palace [Chi]) and Driven by Success (Precise End) dueled early through a quarter in :23 3/5 and a half-mile in :46 4/5. The gray Vineyard Haven began to open up on that rival after six furlongs in 1:11 2/5, but Kodiak Kowboy and Bribon were both poised to make a run into that moderately fast pace turning for home. Bribon was the first to engage a determined Vineyard Haven, and the former poked his head in front at the eighth-pole while Kodiak Kowboy was still nearly two lengths adrift. But the winner finally kicked it into gear and wore down Bribon in the final stages to notch his third Grade 1 triumph of the year, completing the one mile distance in 1:35 2/5.

Bribon edged Vineyard Haven by a head, returning $3.40 and $2.10 as the 8-5
second choice. Vineyard Haven, half of the favored even-money entry that also
included Pyro (Pulpit), returned the mandatory minimum of $2.10. Vacation
(Dynaformer), Pyro and Driven by Success trailed the top three. The exacta was
worth $22.60 and the 3-4-1 trifecta gave back $44.20.

Kodiak Kowboy, who also captured the Carter H. (G1) and Vosburgh S. (G1)
earlier this year, possibly enhanced his credentials for champion male sprinter
honors with this score despite the fact the Cigar Mile is not technically a
sprint. The four-year-old had shipped out to Santa Anita earlier this month with
the intention of contesting the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, but was withdrawn in
midweek after scoping dirty following a workout over the Santa Anita Pro-Ride.
In addition to the Grade 1 treble, Kodiak Kowboy also won the Donald LeVine
Memorial H. at Philadelphia Park and placed in the Forego S. (G1), Alfred G.
Vanderbilt H. (G2) and Duncan F. Kenner S. this season. His only unplaced effort
came in the Churchill Downs S. (G2) in the slop.

Earlier in his career, Kodiak Kowboy was named Canadian champion two-year-old
following victories in the Saratoga Special S. (G2), Bashford Manor S. (G3),
Victoria S. and a third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1). Last year at three,
Kodiak Kowboy won the Amsterdam S. (G2) and Sport Page H. (G3). He is now
expected to take up residence at Vinery for the 2010 breeding season, concluding
his career with a mark of 23-11-4-3, $1,663,363.

Kodiak Kowboy was bred in Kentucky by Hartwell Farm and fetched a bid of
$70,000 at the 2006 OBS August sale. He is out of the unraced Kokadrie
(Coronado’s Quest), who has since produced an unnamed yearling colt by Lion
Heart and a weanling filly by Giant’s Causeway. Kokadrie is herself a
half-sister to Grade 1 hero West by West (Gone West), and this is the same
family as 1986 Brooklyn H. (G1) victor Little Missouri (Cox’s Ridge).