Optimizer leads throughout in Colonel Bradley

Daisy Devine has virtually run out of competition this winter at Fair Grounds (Hodges Photography/Jamie Hernandez) Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas and jockey Jon Court took down another big race at Fair Grounds on Saturday when Bluegrass Hall’s homebred Optimizer scored a wire-to-wire victory in the Grade 3, $125,000 Colonel E.R. Bradley Handicap. The victory came one week after the trainer-jockey combo teamed up to win the Grade 3 Lecomte at Fair Grounds with Oxbow. They also captured the $150,000 Smarty Jones at Oaklawn Park last Monday with Will Take Charge. Setting a modest pace of :24 and :50 over a course labeled good but still drying out after a wet January, Optimizer came under a bit more pressure as he passed the six-furlong mark in 1:15 3/5. However, the four-year-old son of English Channel kicked clear in the stretch and went on to win by 3 1/2 lengths in a time of 1:46 1/5 for about 1 1/16 miles. The 2-1 favorite in a field of nine, Optimizer paid $6, $3.80 and $3.

String King, a multiple stakes winner in the Louisiana-bred ranks, finished
second as the 7-2 second choice, three parts of a length ahead of 14-1 chance
Bim Bam. Completing the order of finish were Unlatch, Trend, Strike Impact,
Dubious Miss, Tetradrachm, and James Street.

Although he has made frequent visits to the main track, most successfully in
the Grade 2 Rebel last year where he finished second, and the Grade 1 Breeders’
Futurity in 2011 where he finished third, Optimizer has found his best on turf.
Second in the Grade 2 With Anticipation at two, he returned to infield
competition after competing in all three legs of the Triple Crown last term. His
first stakes win came in the Grade 3 Kent at Delaware Park in September, and he
preceded this victory with a third in the Grade 2 Hollywood Turf Cup. The
Kentucky-bred now boasts a line of 20-4-2-2, $536,942.

Optimizer’s dam is the A.P. Indy mare Indy Pick, who is a half-sister to
multiple Grade 1 winner Finder’s Fee and multiple Grade 1-winning steeplechaser
Tax Ruling. All were produced by Grade 1 winner Fantastic Find. Optimizer’s
third dam was the noted Phipps family producer Blitey, while his third dam was
1966 champion three-year-old filly Lady Pitt.