It was the second straight near-miss in the Kilroe for jockey Joe
Two key factors contributed to Fluke’s reversal of fortune. Whereas
|
The speedy Acclamation (Unusual Heat), eager to get on with it in his
comeback, wrested control through the opening quarter in :22 2/5. As Acclamation
dictated through a half in :46 1/5, Liberian Freighter (Bertrando) and Square
Eddie (Smart Strike) gave chase. Fluke was reserved in fifth by Bejarano, while
the late-running Caracortado was unhurried near the back of the 10-horse field.
Sadly, Lieve (Brz) (Golden Voyager) broke down on the backstretch, and
Caracortado had to veer around him.
By the time Acclamation reached the six-furlong mark in 1:09 4/5, he was
already under assault from Liberian Freighter. The early leader still had a
half-length edge over Liberian Freighter as late as midstretch, but Fluke was
about to uncork his winning move.
Capitalizing on a dream run up the rail, Fluke rapidly shot to the lead.
Caracortado, who had been fanned out wide leaving the far turn, found a big seam
in the drive and deployed his ferocious turn of foot. Caracortado gained on
Fluke with each and every stride until he came up to his rival’s throatlatch,
but Fluke knuckled down and would not let him pass. The determined winner
stopped the teletimer in 1:33 2/5 for the firm-turf mile, handing Caracortado
his first loss on the grass and paying $7.40, $3.20 and $2.60 as the 5-2 second
choice.
“When you have the best horse in the race you can do anything you want,”
Bejarano said. “I let him go at his speed and figured out my position on the
first turn. I always had a lot of confidence because my horse relaxes well in
the beginning of the race. That’s why I had a lot of horse and was able to
finish strong at the end. I stayed on the rail and my horse showed me a big
kick. Caracortado kept running, but my horse had the best trip in the race.”
“You couldn’t have a better trip than that,” Ascanio noted. “He saved all the
ground. If he went outside, I don’t know what would have happened. But he stayed
inside, and I had a lot of confidence in the horse. I was worried the horse
might be a little short, because in one month I only gave him two works, but I
wanted a fresh horse, a happy horse and it paid off.
“I didn’t want to tell Rafael (Bejarano) too much — I just said there
was a lot of speed in the race and to ride his race. He did a good job. I just
didn’t want the horse to get too keen.”
“(Caracortado) had to dodge that horse that broke down early on,” Talamo
said. “We were fortunate enough to not alter course too bad. Other than that we
had such a good trip. I followed the winner the whole way. I got him to the
outside. He ran a winning race — it’s just the other horse never did stop. It’s
part of the game.”
“He was coming and coming, but just ran out of ground,” trainer Mike
Machowsky said of Caracortado. “He ran great again. It looked like he had a pretty good trip,
even though that horse broke down in front of him down the backstretch. It
probably startled everybody for a few strides. He was able to get through when
he needed to get through. I think we’ll just evaluate — he ran good and made up
a lot of ground down the lane.”
Jeranimo (Congaree) crossed the wire another half-length back in third. Times
Gone By (Giant’s Causeway) ran evenly in fourth. Acclamation tired to fifth and
was trailed by Sebastian Flyte (GB) (Observatory), Gallant Son (Malabar Gold),
Liberian Freighter and Square Eddie.
With this fourth stakes victory to his credit, Fluke has compiled a record of
16-7-6-0, $637,948. He opened his career in Brazil with two dominating
victories, including a 4 1/2-length score in the Grande Premio Mario de Azevedo
Ribeiro (Brz-G3). After his runner-up effort in the 2008 Grande Premio Juliano
Martins (Brz-G1), Fluke was imported to the United States. He garnered an
allowance/optional claimer second time out for Frankel, but flopped in his North
American stakes bow when retreating to fifth in the 2009 Maker’s Mark Mile (G1)
at Keeneland. Fluke was given more time to develop in the optional claiming
ranks in his next four outings, and responded with a dynamic 3 1/4-length tally
at Belmont in September 2009. That effort punched his ticket to the Citation,
where he posted an emotional 1 1/4-length score just 11 days after Frankel’s
death in his first start for Ascanio.
Fluke then endured a bout of seconditis in his three subsequent starts. After
being nipped by Proviso in the Kilroe, he went down by a half-length in the
Arcadia H. (G2) four weeks later. Sidelined until a November 27 allowance at
Hollywood Park, he finished runner-up to Jeranimo. Things finally fell into
place for Fluke in the Thunder Road at the Kilroe course and distance last time
out, and he has now won two in a row.
Fluke was bred by Haras Doce Vale in Brazil. The six-year-old dark bay is a
full brother to current Brazilian stakes victress Hunka Hunka, runner-up in the
February 12 Grande Premio Henrique Possolo (Brz-G1), and a half-brother to
current Brazilian Group 3 winner Gugu Dada (Our Emblem). His dam, Uff-Uff (De
Quest), is a half-sister to Brazilian champion two-year-old colt Cagney (Brz)
(Roy), who went on to land the Carleton F. Burke H. (G3) at Santa Anita;
Brazilian Group 2 winners Malmedy (Un Etendard) and Nineties (Clackson); and
Brazilian Group 2-placed stakes winner On the Edge (Ghadeer). Fluke’s second dam
is Brazilian Group 2 heroine Donnegalle (Campero).