by James Scully
Mr. Commons split rivals in midstretch en route to an emphatic victory in
Monday’s Grade 2, $150,000 Sir Beaufort Stakes at Santa Anita, registering his
first graded stakes triumph with the 3 1/4-length decision. Mike Smith guided
the John Shirreffs-trained colt.
The late runner benefited from a quick early pace in :22 3/5, :45 2/5 and
1:09, but Mr. Commons left no doubt who was best in the one-mile turf affair for
three-year-olds, scoring under wraps while stopping the teletimer in 1:33 4/5
over the firm turf. The son of Artie Schiller paid $4.20 to win as the
even-money favorite.
The only drama involved Smith’s decision-making. The Hall of Fame rider came
upon a wall of horses in the stretch drive and instead of altering course to the
outside, he angled to the inside where there was very little room. Mr. Commons
quickly accelerated through a small seam between Comma to the Top and Ultimate
Eagle to strike the front and the race was over.
“Since I got through it was great,” Smith said of his trip. “I’ve learned
that you can point this horse at a wall and he’ll run through it if I ask him
to.
“He really does everything you tell him so normally when you’re that big of a
favorite you’ll probably go around but I was going to be able to cut the corner
and make up three lengths. All I need is a very small seam with him.”
“It was good to have Mike Smith back in the saddle like that,” Shirreffs
added. “Whatever Mike wants to do, I’m just fine with that.”
Irish Art got up late to be a non-threatening second, less than a length
better than Ultimate Eagle. It was another two lengths back to Cozy Kitten in
fourth. Venomous, pacesetter Comma to the Top, Riveting Reason and Moment of
Weakness rounded out the order finish, and Thirtyfirststreet was scratched.
Owned and bred in Kentucky by Ian Banwell’s St George Farm, Mr. Commons
recorded a smashing turf maiden win at Santa Anita in January and was on the
Triple Crown trail this spring. Third despite displacing his palate in the Grade
1 Santa Anita Derby, he did not have sufficient earnings to get into the
Kentucky Derby, and showed little in the Preakness.
Shirreffs decided to put him back on the grass in the Oceanside Stakes at Del
Mar, and Mr. Commons responded with a convincing victory. The handsome bay
appeared to have the Southern California turf series for three-year-olds at his
mercy, but his connections preferred to aim a bit higher. Rather than stepping
him increasingly up in trip versus his contemporaries, they kept him at a flat
mile against his elders, with a view toward the Breeders’ Cup. The plan didn’t
result in any wins, but the colt proved himself worthy of the daring strategy.
Mr. Commons ran a winning race in the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile Handicap, only to
be nabbed by the scrappy veteran Caracortado at the wire. He was second again in
the Grade 2 Oak Tree Mile at this course and distance, where the classy Jeranimo
got the jump on him. In his previous outing, Mr. Commons was among those
enduring a rough trip in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, yet was hardly disgraced in
fifth.
“He recovers very well and has been training forward all along,” Shirreffs
said when asked about bringing Mr. Commons back off the seven-week hiatus from
the Breeders’ Cup.
Out of the stakes-winning and Grade 2-placed Apalachee mare Joustabout, Mr.
Commons is a half-brother to multiple stakes winner and Grade 3 runner-up Jungle
Fighter.
With Monday’s $90,000 payday, Mr. Commons has now earned $473,660 from a
10-4-2-1 career mark.