Phipps Stable’s homebred Ragtime broke his maiden convincingly in Saturday’s
5TH
race at Gulfstream Park, a 6 1/2-furlong dash that featured a few promising
three-year-olds. While the speedy son of Henny Hughes is not nominated to the
Triple Crown, the fast-finishing runner-up Strong Stipulation and third-placer
Sassicaia both have long-term classic aspirations.
Unlike those two Triple Crown nominees who were just beginning their careers
in this spot, Ragtime had a prior race under his belt. The Shug McGaughey pupil
finished third here on January 1 to Gambler’s Ghost, who was scheduled to run
later on the card in the Grade 3 Hutcheson.
Ragtime, dispatched as the 9-2 third choice, forced the pace set by Madd
Exchange through an opening quarter in :22 2/5. Even as his apprentice rider
Dylan Davis sat chilly in the saddle, Ragtime took command on his own volition
and reeled off the half in :45 1/5. The chestnut comfortably held sway down the
stretch and crossed the wire with 3 1/4 lengths to spare.
“He was a little green today in the stretch,” McGaughey said. “He’s
a good, sound horse and a little firmer track won’t bother him.”
But the placegetters turned in solid debut efforts. The Graham Motion-trained
Strong Stipulation, a son of Lemon Drop Kid, rallied stoutly from last for
second, and promises to move forward on the stretch-out. Sassicaia, a $1.6
million Bernardini colt, broke slowly, regrouped into good position, and hovered
in contention before flattening out. Although Sassicaia barely held third from
Madd Exchange and Greyfell, who dead-heated for fourth, he is likewise eligible
to improve in his follow-up for Chad Brown.
Ragtime has now bankrolled $28,200 from his 2-1-0-1 record. The Kentucky-bred
is the second registered foal, and first runner, from the El Prado mare
Castanet. She is a half-sister to Grade 1 star Dancing Forever.
Ragtime’s second dam, Grade 1-placed Dancinginmydreams, is a full sister to
champion Heavenly Prize (dam of multiple Grade 1 winner Good Reward and Grade 2
hero Pure Prize, both sires) and to Grade 1 queen Oh What a Windfall. Also close
up on the page is Grade 1 victress Persistently. A daughter of Smoke Glacken,
Persistently inherited enough stamina from this robust family to upset Rachel
Alexandra in the 1 1/4-mile Personal Ensign in 2010.
Ragtime’s third dam is Oh What a Dance, a full sister to millionaire Dancing
Spree, who captured both the Breeders’ Cup Sprint and the Suburban in 1989. Oh
What a Dance is also a half-sister to Grade 1 winners Furlough (dam of Grade 3
scorer Happy Hunting) and Fantastic Find (dam of multiple Grade 1 winner
Finder’s Fee).
McGaughey
indicated that grass might be in the future for Ragtime at some
point.
“I never did (think of him as a turf horse), until he ran the first time and I
saw he had a little more action than he had in the morning,” McGaughey
explained.
“It wouldn’t surprise me, being that he’s out of an El Prado mare and
his pedigree on the bottom side. Henny Hughes was a dirt sprinter, but a lot of
times, especially with the Phipps’, they take after the mares a little bit more
than the sires.”
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