Mike Pegram’s homebred PREACHINATTHEBAR (Silver Charm) needed some
encouragement to load into the gate prior to Saturday’s $110,600
Tokyo
City Cup (G3) at Santa Anita, but the Bob Baffert charge conducted himself with professional ease
for the rest of the nine-furlong affair. Rating just behind the pacesetters,
the powerful gray took over in the stretch and pulled off for the one-length win,
returning $16.20, $6.80 and $4.60 as the 7-1 fifth choice.
Up close from the very beginning, Preachinatthebar and jockey Jon Court
settled just behind Truly a Judge (Judge T C), Congrats (A.P. Indy) and Romeo
Plus (Arg) (Alpha Plus), who were all battling it out for pacesetting duties.
Rounding the first turn, Truly a Judge got the slight advantage and set a
pressured pace of :22 3/5, :46 2/5 and 1:10. Soon after, Preachinatthebar moved up alongside
the leading group, and from there it was a case of who could hold off the rest of the
field. That proved to be Preachinatthebar, who withstood the late run from
Texcess (In Excess [Ire]) to stop the teletimer in 1:48 on the fast main track.
“I think the wet-fast track was a huge benefit to him,” Court said, referring
to the moisture that the track had absorbed earlier. “He really seemed to get a
hold of the track, and he was liking it.”
“The horse was ready to go and ran huge,” Baffert’s assistant, John Daley,
said. “He tries hard every time, and he’s a really good horse.”
Texcess gave back $7.40 and $5.20 after being sent off at 6-1.
Melanyhasthepapers (Game Plan) finished another half-length back in third,
paying $4.20 at 6-1. The $1 exotics were worth $50.10 (exacta), $343.70
(trifecta) and $1,373.90 (9-6-10-8 superfecta). El Roblar (War Chant) came next
and was followed by Sort It Out (Out of Place), Truly a Judge, Congrats, Snorter
(Awesome Again) and Romeo Plus. Bully Hayes (Sultry Song) was withdrawn.
Preachinatthebar earned just his second stakes win with this one, adding it
to the 2004 San Felipe S. (G2). He also placed in that year’s Sham S. and last
year’s San Diego H. (G2). The five-year-old improved his
career mark to 22-7-0-3 with $473,240 in lifetime earnings.
The Kentucky-bred gray is the first registered foal out of the stakes-winning
Holy Nola (Silver Deputy), who is also the dam of the unraced fillies Holy Norma
(Nashwan), a three-year-old, and juvenile Nolas Lolly (Lomitas [GB]).