Jockey Florent Geroux, who began November on a high note when guiding Work
All Week to an upset victory in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, ended on one Saturday
when taking the Grade 2, $250,000
Hawthorne
Gold Cup aboard the Todd Pletcher-trained Red Rifle.
Owned by Twin Creeks Racing Stables, the four-year-old gelding broke on top
in the 1 1/4-mile event and led throughout while setting fractions of :23 4/5,
:48 3/5, 1:12 4/5 and 1:37 4/5. Red Rifle opened up on the field 3 1/2 lengths
in the stretch, but saw the margin whittled down to 2 1/4 lengths at the wire as
Mister Marti Gras made a late rally from far back.
Red Rifle paid $14.80 after completing the distance in 2:03 1/5 over a fast
track.
Mister Marti Gras finished second, a head in front of Call Me George, who was
followed by Effinex, Ever Rider, Street Spice, Fordubai, Abraham, 3-1 favorite
Cary Street, Hattaash, and Midnight Aria.
This was the first graded stakes win for Red Rifle, who took the $100,000
Maxxam Gold Cup at Sam Houston last March and the $98,000 Yankee Affair, an
overnight turf stakes at Belmont Park, in early September. He preceded this win
with a close second-place effort in the Sycamore, a Grade 3, 1 1/2-mile turf
event at Keeneland. His overall record is now 13-5-4-0, $412,520.
Bred in Kentucky by Twin Creeks, Tom Clark and Nancy Clark, Red Rifle is a
son of Giant’s Causeway and the multiple Grade 2-placed stakes winner May Night,
a Gulch half-sister to Grade 3-placed stakes winner Sangam. This female family
is also responsible for Grade 1 winner Acaroid.
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