Pocket Cowboys, Gitchee Goomie capture New York-bred turf
stakes
POCKET COWBOYS (Wild Event) took charge out of the gate in the
Kingston
S. and refused to fold, while GITCHEE GOOMIE (City Zip) got up in time to
take the
Mount
Vernon, resolving a pair of $100,000 New York-bred turf races Sunday
afternoon at Belmont Park.
In the Kingston, Pocket Cowboys broke alertly and led the field through an
opening quarter-mile in :23 2/5 and a half in :47 2/5. Pressed by Lubash (Freud)
throughout, he dug in and edged clear to prevail by 1 1/2 lengths, stopping the
clock at 1:34 1/5 for a mile over firm turf.
The winner paid $10.80, $4.60 and $3.50 as the 4-1 third choice in the field
of seven betting interests. Banrock (Go For Gin), seeking his third Kingston
trophy, was a non-threatening sixth, while Uncle T Seven (Freud), part of the
entry favored at 8-5, trailed.
“We tried to go to the lead and slow it down, and it seems to have worked out
beautifully,” winning jockey Edgar Prado said. “He was in control and finished
strong. He’s a game horse, and if someone challenges him, he always gives a
little more.”
Owner/breeder/trainer Scott Schwartz was especially proud of the
five-year-old gelding.
“I’ve bred a few nice horses, but this one is special,” Schwartz said. “He
can do it on the dirt, which he did as a three-year-old, and he turned out to be
a phenomenal turf horse. His first career start was on the grass, and I brought
him back as a four-year-old last year specifically for the grass. He’s bred for
it.
“When the money is on the line, in the big races, that’s when he does his
best. Edgar rode him perfectly, like he always does.”
Pocket Cowboys now claims a 21-6-6-2 record and earnings of $408,550. The
winner of the 2009 New York Derby on the dirt at Finger Lakes, he landed the
Mohawk S. on New York Showcase Day last fall.
Two races earlier in the Mount Vernon, Exclusive Scheme (Saarland) set the
early pace, traveling easily through opening fractions of :24 4/5 and :48 4/5
while tracked closely by Paraiba (Freud).
Gitchee Goomie, who had settled comfortably near the back of the pack through
the early going, swung four wide turning for home and closed down the middle of
the track to overtake Paraiba in the final strides and win by a half-length.
Favored Chorus Music (Strategic Mission) split horses to narrowly grab third.
Gitchee Goomie’s final time for the mile was 1:35 1/5, and she returned $6 to
her backers as the 2-1 second choice.
The Rick Violette trainee was coming off a neck loss to Daveron (Ger) (Black
Sam Bellamy) in the Beaugay (G3) at Belmont on May 7, and has had gate troubles
in the past, but not Sunday.
“She’s a funny filly,” said Violette, who trains Gitchee Goomie for Patsy
Symons. “In the morning, she’s perfect, you could set a bomb off under her and
she’d stand still in the gate. In a race, once she gets out of the gate, she’s
just such a consistent filly that you’d like to have a barn full of them. It was
a terrific ride, too. It was subtle terrific, but he had the favorite inside all
the way.”
“My only concern was that she break well coming out of the gate,” winning
rider Alan Garcia said. “When she did, I thought, ‘that’s half the battle won.’
After the start, I was so comfortable with where she was. I had to wait until
turning for home to let her do her thing, and she did.”
Gitchee Goomie, who finished third in the Garden City S. (G1) in September,
concluded her sophomore campaign with a photo-finish score in the Topicount S.
With this second stakes victory to her credit, she ran her record to 10-4-4-1
and increased her earnings to $226,554.