Glen Hill Farm’s homebred Enterprising rolled to a convincing win in his
stakes premiere in Saturday’s $83,050
Eddie
Logan at Santa Anita, extending his turf record to two-for-two. Trained by
Tom Proctor and piloted by Hall of Famer Gary Stevens, the talented juvenile
stylishly swept past a trio of rivals in deep stretch.
Enterprising made a low-key debut in a dirt sprint here on October 14,
closing mildly for seventh, but was a different proposition once switched to
turf at Hollywood November 16. The Elusive Quality colt showed the tactical
speed to stalk before punching clear, and earned his ticket into better company.
Dispatched as the 9-5 second choice on Saturday, Enterprising traveled
conspicuously well in third early, near the pace set by Lucky Views through
fractions of :23 2/5 and :48. The 3-2 favorite Craftsman, on the other hand, was
a touch slow from the start in his U.S. debut and found himself bringing up the
rear.
Royal Banker, who had been third to Enterprising’s stablemate Global View in
the November 30 Generous at Hollywood, improved his position on the backstretch.
On the far turn, Flagman put his head in front of Lucky Views through six
furlongs in 1:12 1/5, with Royal Banker lapped alongside. Enterprising was
relegated to fourth, but not for long.
The three leaders continued to race abreast down the stretch, with Lucky
Views regaining a slim advantage on the inside. Widest of all, Enterprising
suddenly erupted in the final furlong and mowed them all down. Three-quarters of
a length on top at the wire, he completed the firm-turf mile in 1:35 1/5.
“He had no clue what he was doing in the beginning,” Stevens said. “I told
Tom (Proctor) he might be like that, but the light turned on at about the
eighth-pole and he started sprinting.
“The transition from his first start to today — I’ve never had a horse turn
the corner like that. I think something and he just does it. He’s got a great
mind. He’s gonna have a good year, knock on wood!”
“Gary gave him a smart ride, had him in the right position and in the clear
when it counted,” Proctor said.
“I thought the eight (Royal Banker) kind of ducked out a little bit (into
Enterprising), but that’s OK. When you’re trying to win, they can do that.”
Royal Banker bested Lucky Views by a neck for runner-up honors.
“That’s a pretty nice colt that just beat us is all,” Royal Banker’s jockey
Corey Nakatani said. “If my colt keeps learning — he’s still real green right
now. He ran a great second though. Tip my hat to the winners, they rode a great
race. The pace didn’t develop like I thought it would, so it was much slower
than I anticipated. If my horse had more speed to run at, I think he would have
done better.”
Flagman tired to fourth late, followed by the European imports making their
U.S. debuts — the rallying Craftsman, Morally Bankrupt and Noble Metal. My
Secret Affair was scratched.
Trainer Simon Callaghan believes that Craftsman will move forward from this
introduction to American racing.
“It was his first time,” Callaghan said. “He missed the break, he got a long
way back off a slow pace. He’ll improve a lot.”
Enterprising returned a win mutuel of $5.60 while boosting his own line to
3-2-0-0, $74,350. The Florida-bred is the first registered foal from the A.P.
Indy mare Indy Blaze, who is a half-sister to English/Irish highweight
Stravinsky as well as to Grade 1-placed stakes winner Moscow Ballet, both sires.
Indy Blaze is also a full sister to Group 3-placed Augustusthestrong.
Enterprising’s second dam is Grade 1 star Fire the Groom. With his fourth dam
being 1966 Kentucky Oaks queen Native Street, he hails from the family of
Grade/Group 1 winners Royal and Regal, Dowsing, Pearl of Love and Jam Alley.
“I don’t know what might be next for him,” Proctor said. “I really hadn’t
paid much attention.
“But I’m tickled to win this, because Eddie Logan was special. He was the
best executive in racing. He knew more than most.”
Logan was Santa Anita’s iconic shoe shine attendant. He worked at The Great
Race Place since opening day, December 25, 1934, until just prior to his death
at 98 on January 31, 2009.
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