With a quarter-mile remaining in the inaugural $200,000 Texas Turf Mile S. on Sunday at Sam Houston Race Park, one would have been hard-pressed to identify Bodecream as the horse to beat. But with a spectacular homestretch rally, Bodecream exploded from 11 lengths off the pace to annihilate his rivals by 3 1/2 lengths.
Bodecream was far from hurried during the early stages of the mile turf test for sophomores. With Deshawn Parker in the saddle for trainer Danny Pish, Bodecream settled more than a dozen lengths off the pace as 16-10 favorite Jack and Noah, shipping in off a stakes victory at Aqueduct, opened up a five-length lead through quick fractions of :22.51, :46.23, and 1:11.49 on a good course.
But Jack and Noah grew leg-weary from his early exertions, and his lead shrank rapidly in the homestretch. Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2) runner-up Chimney Rock was the first to challenge, pulling up alongside at the eighth pole, but by then Parker had Bodecream rolling and the race was all but over. Sprinting hard to the finish line, Bodecream pulled clear with authority to stop the timer in 1:37.01.
Toma Todo and Pixelate likewise rallied from off the pace to finish second and third, ahead of Chimney Rock and Jack and Noah. Southgate, Deviant, Drewpower, Memorable, and Alohlouya trailed the field.
Previously a maiden winner at Retama Park, Bodecream’s victory boosted his career earnings to $137,307, well in excess of his $50,000 purchase price. Red Lane Thoroughbreds campaigns the son of Bodemeister, who was produced from the unraced Dixie Union mare Call Mariah.
Earlier on the Sam Houston card, older sprinters took the spotlight in the $100,000 Frontier Utilities Turf Sprint S. and the $75,000 Stonerside Sprint S. The former event, a 5-furlong dash on grass, saw 9-10 favorite Real News outsprint Fast Boat in a driving finish to prevail by a half-length in :57.30. Colby Hernandez guided the consistent 4-year-old son of The Factor for trainer Al Stall.
In the Stonerside Sprint, 4-year-old Mr Money Bags left no doubt about his superiority as the 3-2 betting choice. After casually tracking a quick pace, the Mike Neatherlin-trained Silver City gelding took command when called upon in the stretch and drew off to score by 6 3/4 lengths. With Ernesto Valdez-Jiminez in the saddle, Mr Money Bags stopped the timer in a quick 1:09.94.
The day’s racing action concluded with the $75,000 Jersey Lilly Turf S. for fillies and mares racing 1 1/16 miles on grass. The 3-2 favorite Dream Passage vied for the early advantage and led into the stretch, but she was no match late for Winning Envelope, who emulated Bodecream with an explosive rally from off the pace.
Although she was still sitting in 10th place after 6 furlongs, Winning Envelope nevertheless seized command with time to spare, striding powerfully past Dream Passage to win by 3 1/2 lengths in 1:45.15. Jockey Flavien Prat rode the 4-year-old daughter of More Than Ready for trainer Chris Block.
