Sittin’ on the dock of the winner’s circle, Bourbon Bay takes the Cougar II

Sittin’ on the dock of the winner’s circle, Bourbon Bay takes the Cougar
II

Bourbon Bay earned an automatic berth to the Breeders’ Cup Marathon (Benoit Photos) David and Jill Heerensperger’s BOURBON BAY (Sligo Bay [Ire]) flooded the field as the bay gelding bested rivals in the $125,000 Cougar II H. (G3) Friday night at Del Mar. Splitting through horses around the final turn, he was three deep in the stretch as Joe Talamo urged his mount to the lead at the eighth-pole to prevail by 2 3/4 lengths. This marked a new Polytrack record with a time of 2:29.39 in the 1 1/2-mile marathon, eclipsing the 2:30.46 mark established last year in this race by Temple City. The 2-1 second choice returned $6.60, $4.00 and $2.80. The Neil Drysdale trainee settled several lengths back early, as Dahoud (NZ) (Scaredee Cat) set the pace on the inside, and led right up to the homestretch in fractions of :24 2/5, :48 2/5, 1:13 1/5, 1:38 4/5, and 2:04 3/5. Bourbon Bay, guided toward the outside, caught up with Dahoud with just short of two furlongs to go, then charged through the wire victoriously with Dahoud holding on for second. “He’d had some difficult trips the last few times. In Dubai (11th of 14 in the Sheema Classic [UAE-G1] on March 26),” Drysdale said. “And the other day in New Jersey (fourth in the July 2 United Nations S. [G1] at Monmouth Park) he had a really rough trip. So we just wanted to get his confidence back and felt that this would be a really nice race to get his confidence back up. Much better than the Eddie Read ([G1] at Del Mar on July 23).”

“It all set up good,” Talamo said. “I was in the right spot and hitting my
spots all along the way. That’s easy to do when you ride a good horse like this.
They put you in the right spot. All you’ve got to do is point them in the right
direction.”

The 3-2 favorite Setsuko (Pleasantly Perfect) finished third, 1 1/2 lengths behind Dahoud,
and was followed by Times Gone By (Giant’s Causeway), Erbeia (Pulpit), Pode Ir (Brz) (Crimson Tide) and Mindblower (Giant’s Causeway). Oilisblackgold (Tapit) was scratched.

Bourbon Bay ran 18 of his previous 19 career starts on turf, but proved he could
also compete on Polytrack with his victory on Friday. This marked the fifth
graded stakes victory for the five-year-old. Last year, he swept Santa Anita’s
three-race turf marathon series in 2010, with victories in the San Luis Obispo
H. (G2), San Luis Rey H. (G2) and San Juan Capistrano H. (G2). His last victory
came in the San Marcos S. (G2) at Santa Anita on January 11. With a
bankroll of $684,424, Bourbon Bay’s record is now 20-7-3-4.

Bred by Adena Springs in Kentucky, Bourbon Bay was a bargain $1,700 Keeneland
September yearling purchase. He is a half-brother to Ginger Brew (Milwaukee
Brew), Canada’s champion three-year-old filly of 2008, as well as stakes victor
Booyah (Running Stag), a yearling colt named Distinguished Okie (Milwaukee
Brew) and a 2011 filly by Tapit. All were produced by the winning Conquistador Cielo mare Coral Necklace,
who comes from the family of Illinois Derby (G2) winner and Belmont S. (G1)
runner-up Vision and Verse (Storm Cat).

Bourbon Bay’s fourth dam is Bebopper (Tom Fool), the dam of multiple Grade 1
star Hatchet Man (The Axe II) and brilliant Grade 2 hero Stop the Music (Hail to
Reason), both noted sires. Also descending from this line is champion
three-year-old filly Yanks Music (Air Forbes One), successful in the 1996
Alabama S. (G1), Mother Goose S. (G1), Beldame S. (G1) and Ruffian H. (G1).

Hall of Famer Drysdale said Bourbon Bay could make his next start on
August 28, in either the Del Mar H. (G2) on turf, or if the field looks weak, the
Pacific Classic (G1) back on Polytrack.