Scherer: Bourbon Cowboy’s improved ahead of rematch with
Recount
A talented and complex field of eight juveniles is set to hammer out who the
best current two-year-old at Arlington is on Saturday in the Grade 3, $125,000
Arlington-Washington Futurity. With powerful local stables like those of Dale
Bennett, Mike Stidham and Jimmy DiVito all represented with top charges –and
all are expected to take a great deal of pari-mutuel money — the proverbial
X-factor might come in the form of Holmark Stables IV’s slightly overlooked
Bourbon Cowboy.
Trained by Richie Scherer and owned by the aforementioned partnership of
principals Paul Holmes and Kevin Marko, Bourbon Cowboy hails from the identical
connections as last year’s Arlington-Washington Lassie — the filly counterpart
— winner She’s Offlee Good. Like that daughter of Offlee Wild, Bourbon Cowboy
comes off a victory in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden over the local oval. She was
subsequently let go at 5-1 and responded by defeating a field that included
future stakes winners Istanford and Battlefield Angel, as well as multiple
stakes-placed Maria Maria. Scherer hopes for a little déjà vu in 2014.
“He’s doing really well,” he reported of Bourbon Cowboy. “It looks like it’s
a small but competitive field. It’s eerily very similar to last year with She’s
Offlee Good. It would be great if they both ended up the same way, too.”
Unlike She’s Offlee Good, who won at first asking, it took the son of Cowboy
Cal two races to break his maiden.
“In the first race he probably just wasn’t as tight,” Scherer explained.
“(The winner Recount) got away from him and was highly touted. We ran a good
second. In the next race, he just ran a very good race, a professional race, and
moved when he needed to. He maybe got a little lazy when he hit the front, but
that’s OK.”
In the maiden victory, Bourbon Cowboy defeated Lothenbach Stables’ superbly
impressive next-out winner Nun the Less, who aired by six lengths on August 29.
“That flattered him a lot,” Scherer said. “I wasn’t sure what kind of field
(Bourbon Cowboy) was running against until then. (Nun the Less’ trainer Chris)
Block didn’t reveal his hand before the race and then he totally showed it the
second time and was very dominant. I’m just glad he won it that close to the
Futurity and couldn’t run in both!”
By a two-turn specialist sire and from a Broken Vow mare, the step up in trip
to the Futurity’s seven panels is welcome to the Scherer camp.
“I don’t think it’ll be an issue at all,” he explained. “He doesn’t run off.
He settles well and finishes and he’s doing well like (She’s Offlee Good) was.
She was a flashier horse who moved beautifully. He’s just a good looking strong
horse and he came out of his last race very well.”
If Bourbon Cowboy does pull off the victory for his connections, he will be
facing a few familiar faces. Doubledown Stables’ Recount is back for DiVito, as
well as Ike and Dawn Thrash’s Ike Walker from the Stidham barn, who finished
fourth behind Recount and Bourbon Cowboy in their respective debuts on July 20.
Next out, the son of Bellamy Road wowed many with a comfortable 7 1/4-length
drubbing of five opponents on August 7 over the Futurity’s course and distance.
“Stidham’s horse will be very tough,” Scherer said. “We beat him and he came
back and won impressively the other day. Recount ran well last out at a mile
(when third in the $100,000 Prairie Juvenile Mile) and (trainer Mike) Campbell’s
(Private Prospect) is well tested. Those three will take a lot of money.
Even the ones behind me (in odds) like One Go All Go and Mr. Lightning Boy will
be tough to beat — anyone can win.”
Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com