He has become one of Mark Casse’s favourite horses and last fall, champion jockey Patrick Husbands said he was his favourite horse of all time. High praise for RIDE A COMET who won the Jan. 9 Tropical Park Turf (G3) at Gulfstream Park for his fourth straight win and third straight since he missed more than two years of racing.
The compact, robust six-year-old horse, last seen beating the mighty Pink Lloyd in the Grade 2 Kennedy Road Stakes at Woodbine on the Tapeta Nov. 21, bowed a tendon in 2018 and then re-injured the same tendon in a different spot all between Sept. 2018 and his return to racing last October at Woodbine.
Saturday, John Oxley and My Meadowview Farm LLC’s son of Candy Ride (Arg) – Appealing Zophie by Successful Appeal Ride a Comet made a triumph return to turf for the first time in more than two years to capture the $100,000 Tropical Turf.
The Tropical Turf headlined an 11-race program that also featured a mandatory payout of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 pool that had swelled to more than $1 million and generated $5.5 million in handle Saturday.
Mark Casse-trained Ride a Comet stamped himself as a turf star of the future when he captured the Del Mar Derby (G2) Sept. 2, 2018 but immediately went to the sidelines. The 5-year-old son of Candy Ride returned to action over Woodbine’s synthetic surface with a two-length victory in an Oct. 16 optional claiming allowance before capturing the Kennedy Road.
“He came down well-prepared from Woodbine from our crew up there. The story behind this horse is just truly amazing. A lot of the credit goes to our team in Ocala and to the owners, especially, for having the patience with him,” Casse’s assistant trainer Nick Tomlinson said. “He’s rewarding us every time he goes out there.”
Tomlinson was no doubt referring to the tendon injuries which sidelined the horse. Ride a Comet spent his recovery time in Ocala at Mark Casse’s training centre, often watching Casse’s son and friends playing baseball on the nearby field.
Ride a Comet ($6.20) saved ground while settling a few lengths behind pacesetter Frostmourne, who was pressed by defending champion Tusk past fractions of 24.09 and 47.78 seconds for the first mile of the mile event from 4-year-olds and up. Frostmourne continued to show the way under John Velazquez into the turn entering the homestretch while meeting a new challenge from Casa Creed who slipped off the rail under Junior Alvarado for the stretch run. Tyler Gaffalione guided Ride a Comet off the rail entering the stretch, making a three-wide drive that carried his mount to victory by a half-length over Casa Creed.
“He’s push-button. He’s all class. Mark was very excited about this race,” Gaffalione said. “When I got to the paddock, Nick said, ‘This is a good one.’ They knew what they had. I just rode him with a lot of confidence, and he got the job done.”
Casa Creed finished second, 2 ½ lengths ahead of Frostmourne. Ride a Comet ran a mile over a firm turf in 1:33.62 with a final 2 furlongs in 22 3/5.
His Beyer Figure from Daily Racing Form was 101.
“We were very confident in him. His last work was just unbelievable. It takes a really good horse to do what he does. He goes out there and shows it every morning,” Tomlinson said. “He’s such a class act. Just to be around him every day is truly a blessing.”
Ride a Comet, who was a slight favourite over Casa Creed, has won eight of 13 career starts and over $478,000.
The horse was a $375,000 purchase at the 2017 Ocala Breeders’ Spring 2-year-old sale. He is a half-brother to Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Tapwrit.
~ with files from Gulfstream Park media
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