by James Scully
To Honor and Serve was prominent from the start and edged away in the stretch
of Saturday’s Grade 1, $250,000 Cigar Mile Handicap, scoring by a 1 3/4-length
margin at Aqueduct. Owned by Charlotte Weber’s Live Oak Plantation and trained
by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the three-year-old colt was confidently handled
throughout by Jose Lezcano and finished the eight-furlong distance in a swift
1:33 4/5.
Hymn Book offered a nice rally from the back of the pack for second, but was
never a serious threat to the winner, who rebounded from his seventh-place
effort in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. To Honor and Serve is now three for three
over the main track at Aqueduct, adding the Cigar Mile to impressive Grade 2
wins in the Remsen Stakes and Nashua Stakes last year. He also captured the
Grade 2 Pennsylvania Derby two starts previously.
“He’s been really eating up good and it didn’t look like we hurt his feelings
too much in the Classic,” Mott said. “I thought he ran well in there and he came
back very sound and feeling good. I think (one-mile) is an ideal distance for
him; I think he’s a very fast horse as the 1:33 and change would indicate. He
came up here and he worked well and did everything right. Actually I think he’s
put on a little bit of flesh since the Classic, if you could imagine that.”
To Honor and Serve broke well from post 5 and led the field out of the chute
on the fast track, passing the quarter-mile point in :23 with a half-length
advantage over Calibrachoa. That rival advanced along the inside to take the
lead on the backstretch, with To Honor and Serve content to closely track the
front runner in second, and Calibrachoa reeled off a quick half-mile in :45 3/5
and three-quarters in 1:09 2/5.
Lezcano asked his mount for run after upon entering the stretch and To Honor
and Serve quickly seized control, drawing clear in the final furlong.
“He broke well and I was able to make him relax,” Lezcano explained. “The
half was 45 (3/5) — he was going easy. I had plenty of horse turning for home,
I tapped him on the shoulder, and he changed leads and took off. I’m very happy
with the way he finished.”
Favored at even-money, To Honor and Serve paid $4.10 to win. Hymn Book was
the longest price at 10-1 among five betting interests and wound up 2 1/4
lengths clear of third-placer Calibrachoa. Haynesfield came next in fourth and
was followed by Caixa Eletronica, who raced coupled with Calibrachoa, and
Sangaree. Pretty Boy Freud was scratched.
To Honor and Serve pushed his earnings past the the $1-million mark with the
$150,000 payday for his first Grade 1 victory. The four-time stakes hero has now
earned $1,146,340 from a 11-6-1-2 mark.
“I thought he was professional before this race, but this certainly puts the
right markings on his calendar,” Webber said. “He’s going to go home to Live Oak
(in Florida) and rest for a little bit. After his rest he will go back to Billy
(Mott) and we will figure out his campaign for next year.
“I can’t see any reason not to race him next year. (Having fun) is what this
game is all about. I don’t think it’s about retiring them as soon as you can to
get your maximum dollars. That’s nice too, don’t get me wrong, but it also is
about racing and continuing on and having good older horses show what they’re
made of with stamina.”
Mott can celebrate a tremendous month of November that includes wins in the
Breeder’s Cup Classic, Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic, Grade 2 Falls City
Handicap and Grade 3 Cardinal Handicap.
“It’s been a great month. We’ve got no complaints,” Mott said. “What started
out as a very slow year has ended up good. This is probably one of the last
stakes we’ll run in for the year and it’s a great way to top it off.”
Bred in Kentucky by Twin Creeks Farm, Larry Byer and Rancho San Miguel, To
Honor and Serve was a $575,000 Keeneland September yearling and is the first
starter from the stakes-winning Deputy Minister mare Pilfer. This is the
extended family of champion turf male Sunshine Forever, champion turf female
Ryafan, Canadian champion Rahy’s Attorney, Grade 1 winners Brian’s Time and
Memories of Silver, and noted sire Dynaformer, among other luminaries.
A leading contender on the Triple Crown trail after romping in the
aforementioned Nashua and Remsen, To Honor and Serve failed to sparkle when
reappearing at Gulfstream Park this year. The highly-regarded bay was a
lackluster third in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes, and the expected
improvement never came when an identical third in the Grade 1 Florida Derby. He
was subsequently diagnosed with a suspensory injury and given time to heal.
To Honor and Serve will be one of the top older horses entering 2012.