“He broke good and Johnny got to ease him back a little off the pace, which
“I knew we would have a lot of speed (coming in), but the trick was to settle
|
This Ones for Phil (Untuttable) sprinted clear soon after the start, hitting
the quarter-mile mark in :23 4/5 with a 1 1/2-length advantage, and continued to
show the way through fractions of :45 2/5 and 1:09 2/5 with Quality Road
tracking him in second. The eventual winner asserted himself leaving the far
turn, rolling past the pacesetter to open a 1 1/2-length advantage in upper
stretch, and the Virginia-bred was in complete command the rest of the way.
Sent off the 5-1 fourth choice in the 10-horse field, Quality Road returned
$13, $6.40 and $4.60. Theregoesjojo (Brahms), who swung out wide for the stretch
run after breaking a step slowly, easily proved second-best at nearly 5-1 and
gave back $5.80 and $3.80.
“We are really happy,” trainer Ken McPeek said of Theregoesjojo’s runner-up
effort. “We didn’t lay it all down for this race. He wasn’t 100 percent cranked
and we’re excited about going forward from here. I thought he ran a great race
and lost to a very good horse. And believe me, the horse that won is one very
impressive horse.”
It was another four lengths back to the 7-1 Beethoven (Sky Mesa), who trailed
the entire field through the opening three-quarters of a mile before making up
ground in the stretch and paid $3.80.
Capt. Candyman Can (Candy
Ride [Arg]), the 7-2 favorite, finished a length back in fourth. The exotics
totaled $77.20 (exacta), $522.40 (trifecta) and $2,093.80 (11-2-7-9 superfecta).
“I thought he ran good,” recapped Capt. Candyman Can’s conditioner Ian
Wilkes. “I wasn’t disappointed. Of course, you always hope to win a race like
this, but the main thing we wanted to see was that he had the talent to keep
moving forward. We will see how he comes back, evaluate him and talk to the
owners.”
This Ones for Phil, Bee Cee Cee (Songandaprayer), Notonthesamepage
(Catienus), Jack Spratt (Candy Ride [Arg]) and Taqarub (Aldebaran) came next
under the wire. Break Water Edision (Lemon Drop Kid) stopped in the stretch and
was eased. Rocketing Returns (Gone West) and Take the Points (Even the Score)
were both scratched.
An impressive debut winner at Aqueduct in late November, Quality Road
finished second to Theregoesjojo when making his 2009 bow in a seven-furlong
allowance at Gulfstream on January 10. He reversed that outcome on Saturday
while improving his record to 3-2-1-0, $182,830. Out of the Strawberry Road
(Aus) mare Kobla, the bay colt has an unnamed yearling half-sister by Tale of
the Cat. Kobla is a full sister to 1997 champion three-year-old filly and
Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) heroine Ajina, an earner of more than $1.3 million.
She also counts multiple Grade 3 victor Rob’s Spirit (Theatrical [Ire]) as a
half-brother. Quality Road’s third dam is Irish champion Highest Trump (Bold
Bidder), whose descendants include multiple English Group 1 winner and
highweight Bahri (Riverman).
“He came out of his last race with a little
cough, but has trained great since then,” Jerkens said. “We’ve thought a lot of
him from his first start. He’s got the pedigree to go on, but a one-turn mile is
still basically a sprint and a lot different than going two turns.
“We’ll talk it over before making a decision on
what’s next. I’m a New York guy so the Wood (Memorial [G1] on April 4 at
Aqueduct) might be one option. On the other hand, he’s trained great over the
track down here (Palm Meadows) and weather isn’t likely to interrupt his
schedule, so the Florida Derby ([G1] on March 28 at Gulfstream) is naturally a
possibility.
“We missed the first deadline (for Triple Crown)
nominations, but we’ll put it up in March,” Jerkens added. “It will just cost a
little more.”