Flashy Margaritta, with Patrick Husbands, made every pole a winning one to just outlast Spin the King and take the co-featured Bold Ruckus Stakes for three-year-olds, Saturday at Woodbine.
The Bold Ruckus, an Ontario Sires event, was contested at six furlongs over a ‘good’ turf, presenting a handicapping dilemma for many, since only two of the nine starters had ever raced on the lawn.
But speed is speed, and Flashy Margaritta, coming off a disappointing loss as the 3-5 choice in his seasonal debut, rebounded in style in the gelding’s first crack on the grass, cutting out sizzling fractions of :23.03 and :45.59, before prevailing by a diminishing neck at the wire. The final time was 1:09.84.
Spin the King, with jockey Chantal Sutherland-Kruse, drifted badly through the lane before getting straightened out for a late charge at the leader, while Spadina Road came on late, a further one and three-quarter lengths behind.
Trained by Ralph Biamonte for owners Danny Lococo and Mary Biamonte, Flashy Margaritta was winning his third stake, after taking the Bull Page and Frost King last year in an excellent juvenile campaign when scoring in three of four starts.
“He’s very gutsy and he’s very game,” said Husbands. “If he got beat, I would have blamed myself. I hit the panic button and hit him (in the stretch) and he jumped to his left lead. I should never have hit him. I nearly caused him to lose.”
“He’s by Bold n’ Flashy out of Citius’s family. They like the grass,” explained Biamonte. “We worked him the other day on the grass in 47 (seconds) and he went pretty good. Patrick can make three mistakes and still get there.”
Flashy Margaritta earned $75,000 for the hard fought win, pushing his career bankroll to $256,200.
Sent postward the 4-1 second choice on a tote board where Spadina Road was the mild 5-2 favourite and six horses were under 9-1, Flashy Margaritta paid $10.10, $5.20 and $3.40, combining with Spin the King ($5.20, $3.70) for a $51.50 (5-3) exactor. A 5-3-4 (Spadina Road, $2.90) triactor was worth $138.20, while a $1 Superfecta [5-3-4-9 (Too Many Egbert’s)] came back $395.25.
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