Gervinho pushed wide on turn, still gets up in Sir Beaufort

Gervinho would not be denied despite suffering interference (Benoit Photos) Keith Brackpool’s Gervinho underscored his reputation as a reliably game performer by overcoming trouble in Thursday’s Grade 2, $201,000 Sir Beaufort at Santa Anita. Forced abruptly to the far outside in a chain reaction turning into the stretch, the Carla Gaines trainee regained his balance, and his momentum, to get up in a blanket finish. Procurement dove through late on the inside for second, edging the dead-heating pair of Outside Nashville and Si Sage. But they had been involved in the incident leaving the far turn. Outside Nashville came out into Si Sage, who in turn careered wide into the path of the rallying Gervinho, pushing the eventual winner well out onto the course. Procurement was also inconvenienced by the melee. The inquiry sign was promptly posted as the stewards reviewed the video. Outside Nashville was disqualified to fourth, and Si Sage maintained sole possession of third. Gervinho has finished out of the top three only twice in his career, when fifth in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf and most recently when fourth in the 1 1/4-mile Hollywood Derby. The Unusual Heat colt figured to profit by reverting to a grassy mile here, considering that his two previous stakes wins — the 2012 Zuma Beach at Santa Anita and the July 17 Oceanside at Del Mar — had each come at this trip.

Under regular rider Rafael Bejarano, the 7-2 third choice settled into a
midpack spot in sixth, sensibly behind a contentious pace. Horizontalyspeakin
showed the way through an opening quarter in :23, but found himself pressed by
7-5 favorite No Jet Lag through splits of :45 and 1:08 3/5. Tom’s Tribute, the
5-2 second choice, was also prominently placed in a chasing third.

Swinging for home, Tom’s Tribute overtook the tiring leaders. By that point,
Gervinho and Si Sage were on the move, only to suffer interference from the
wayward Outside Nashville. The deep-closing Procurement was full of run, but
found himself behind those rivals and had to alter course to an inside path for
room.

In a frenetic stretch run with several contenders fanned across the track,
Gervinho prevailed by a head from Procurement, who was a nose in front of Si
Sage and the demoted Outside Nashville. Dice Flavor closed for fifth, another
half-length back, and Tom’s Tribute faded in the final strides and ended up
sixth. No Jet Lag, Horizontalyspeakin and the ever-trailing Tiz a Minister
rounded out the order under the wire, and Educated Guess was scratched.

After completing the firm-turf mile in 1:33 2/5, Gervinho rewarded his
loyalists with a win mutuel of $9.

“(Coming around the final turn), I was in great position,” Bejarano recapped,
“but then I saw the No. 1 horse (Outside Nashville) — he pushed the No. 10 (Si
Sage) really bad, so the No. 10 crossed me completely. I almost clipped heels.
So that’s why I came out; I was trying to save my path. After that, I had to get
back and let him run again. He showed me a big kick. He was definitely the best
horse in the race today.”

The Sir Beaufort was up for grabs in deep stretch (Benoit Photos) The winning owner and trainer were both pleasantly surprised that the trouble didn’t cost Gervinho. “Frankly, I thought the race was over,” Brackpool said. “How he recovered from that and went on to win, is remarkable in a mile, Grade 2 race.” “When the other horse got in the way I thought we were done,” Gaines noted, “so I was so happy to see him re-rally.” Procurement was unlucky, according to jockey Joe Talamo, who described how his mount was also affected by the interference on the turn. “I didn’t talk to the stewards, but I did go down to watch the replay,” Talamo said. “The horse to the inside of me (Outside Nashville) took my path. It wasn’t Gervinho’s fault at all. I didn’t have to wait too long (for an inside path), it really started to open up on the inside. It was more a matter of getting his momentum going. “If that hadn’t happened at the top of the stretch, I really think we had it,” Talamo added. “I was following the winner the whole way and was just waiting for us to turn home to be able to swing out. The incident didn’t help my chances. When I did find the hole, my horse kicked in.”

Gervinho’s third career stakes victory improved his record to 9-4-2-1,
$422,140. A debut maiden winner over Del Mar’s Polytrack, the bay colt handled
the stretch-out to two turns, a switch to turf, and stakes company next time out
in the Zuma Beach at this course and distance. Gervinho was sidelined for seven
months following his solid fifth in the Juvenile Turf, and returned with a
useful runner-up effort in the June 9 Silky Sullivan on the Golden Gate turf.
That set him up perfectly for the first division of the Oceanside. Since scoring
at Del Mar, Gervinho has placed in a pair of 1 1/8-mile events, finishing second
in the September 1 Del Mar Derby and third in the November 1 Twilight Derby,
prior to trying another furlong in the December 1 Hollywood Derby.

Brackpool commented on the consistent colt’s career.

“He won the two-year old Zuma Beach race here and he came from off the pace
there and you never would have imagined he would have gotten there,” the owner
said. “When he ran in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (Turf) a few weeks later, he
was right up with the pace and I don’t think it suited him to be right up there.

“He came out of the Breeders’ Cup with a small injury; we took a chip out and
we gave him some time. He came out in the Silky Sullivan at Golden Gate and ran
a close second. Then, he came back and won the Oceanside on opening day at Del
Mar, so I’m a big fan of opening days. I think this is it until we re-open
(laughs). I have to find somewhere else to open.

“I thought he ran a very game race in the Del Mar Derby. He just got nipped.
We gave him a trial in a mile and a quarter and I don’t think that is his best
distance; I certainly thought a mile was, but when you have a good
three-year-old, you always want to try them in those derbies and he was fourth.

“One of the newspapers wrote today that the next time this horse runs a bad
race will be the first time. That’s a great tribute,” Brackpool summed up.

“He’s such a big horse — he’s huge,” Gaines said. “He’s been delightful.
When he was two, after he ran in the Breeders’ Cup, he got a little issue in his
knee. We turned him out and since then he’s been on a roll. The other mile races
we have wanted to enter in just weren’t the right timing, so this is great.
We’ll see how he comes out of this, but obviously we would think about the
Cal-bred race next month (the California Cup Turf Classic at 1 1/8 miles on
January 25).”

Bred by Barry Abrams and Madeline Auerbach in California, Gervinho sold for
$49,000 as a Barretts October yearling. The following March, he RNA’d for
$120,000 as a two-year-old in training at the same venue. He’s out of the Out of
Place mare Foreverinthegame, which makes him a full brother to Lakerville, who
is unraced since a nose second in the 2012 Green Flash at Del Mar. Gervinho
counts Grade 1 runner-up Fondly Remembered as his second dam, and this is also
the family of Grade 2 winner Memorette and Grade 3 vixen Scotch Heather.

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