Sunday saw better horses and larger fields than the day before and the result was a larger crowd and a handle that pushed past $830,000, nearly $370,000 more than Saturday. Jockeys and trainers had big clumps of success with Pedro Alvarado and Richard Hamel each riding three winners while Mike Anderson trained two, as did Dino Condilenios, both of his being owned by Swift Thoroughbreds.
Sixty-four horses started Sunday, compared to 44 for Saturday, and there were four claims, the high for any race day this season. Races four through nine averaged 9 starters a race and the fans bet almost 700K on them. Three of the five races were $4,000 claimers with a total of 30 starters. They averaged about a $145,000 per race. It was a text book example of the power of field size and it shows that Hastings is capable of providing a level of sport that people in many different places are willing to take seriously enough to put their money down.
Sabrina Runs Fast
The third race of the day was an open $25,000 claiming event for fillies and mares and it was won by Swift Thoroughbreds’ four-year-old mare Sabrina ($5.40) who got the 6 ½ furlong sprint in a very rapid 1:16.31 under jockey Richard Hamel. Hidden Harbor grudgingly faded to second after setting a fast pace and Hey Didjanotis saved ground and ran hard all the way to finish third without ever posing a threat to the first two.
It was essentially a two-horse race between the eight year old Hidden Harbor who set the early fractions and the stalking Sabrina at half her age. Hey Didjanotis broke sharply but first Hidden Harbor, and then Sabrina, ran past her and from the first turn on the two of them were, for all practical purposes, in their own race. Hidden Harbor was a half-length to the good after a half mile in 45:26 before Sabrina started to grind her way past on the second turn and enter the stretch a little to the good. Sabrina got the six furlongs in 1:09.27, second fastest of the season, while moving away to be a length clear at the wire.
Hidden Harbor gave in with extreme reluctance while running a winning race herself and simply had the misfortune of hooking a very sharp Sabrina. Hidden
Harbor’s rider objected to the way the two horses got close at the head of the lane, but after the stewards considered it, they did not take him up on it.
The only horse to go faster than Sabrina in the month of May was the older gelding Mr. Bowling who won the John Longden in 1:16.23. Sabrina’s three-quarters in 1:09.27 equals the time in her stablemate Rather Beautiful’s Brighouse Belles victory, and for what it is worth, the only horse to run a faster three-quarters than the two Swift Thoroughbred fillies is Swift’s older stakes winning gelding, Modern.
As mentioned, Swift Thoroughbred owns, Dino Condilenios trains.
Brother Duster Brushes Them Off
A pair of $16,000 claimers for three-year-olds, one for the boys, one for the girls, were the supporting features. The boys’ version went as the opener and it was won with a dominating wire-to-wire effort by Brother Duster ($6.90) who covered the 6 ½ furlongs in 1:17.24 for jockey Pedro Alvarado. Cleared to Victory chased willingly and Cognac closed well, there was little to choose between them, and a nose at most put Cleared to Victory in second. However, they were a long way from running Brother Duster down.
The winner broke quickly and moved to the lead ahead of Cleared to Victory who settled in along the rail around the first turn. Going towards the half, Look at Me bulged at Brother Duster after going wide on the first turn, but he wearied from the effort and Cleared to Victory moved off the rail to get past him and took up the chase. At the same time, Cognac started to close from behind along the inside and the two of them had a fine race for second, but the winner was gone and not coming back.
Brother Duster was bred in British Columbia by Red Rock Farm. He is out of their blue hen Excited Angel, the producer of four stakes winners and a stakes placed winner of over a $100,000. Brother Duster is by Mass Market and is a full brother to three stakes winners. He was owned by Nick and Pauline Felicella and trained by Anita Bolton prior to his being claimed out of this race.
Bullet Fires
Bullet ($4.00) carried Richard Hamel to his third win on the day when she won the fillies open $16,000 claiming event while giving owners Swift Thoroughbreds and trainer Dino Condilenios their second win on the card. Bullet needed 1:18.83 to complete the 6 ½ furlong sprint and she needed every foot of a three length lead she had built at the head of the lane to hold off the late closing Wild Rose of Texas who came from last only to miss by a head. Biscuit, the winner’s stablemate, also did some closing to take third.
Sent off as the even money favorite, Bullet was always in good position as she set up shop outside the pacesetting I Believe In Angel and stayed there until the second turn when she began to edge away from that one, eventually building up a margin that would be just big enough. Wild Rose of Texas ran, as they say, too good to lose and was two lengths clear of the third place Biscuit.
The Kentucky bred daughter of Dunkirk won for the team of Swift and Condilenios. She will make her next start for new connections.
Rachael Run Is On One
It is not possible to review the day’s racing without recognizing Rachael Run ($15.50) who has won 5 in a row, both long and short, over the last two seasons at Hastings. The first four were at $4,000 before today when she stepped up to $8,000 with Pedro Alvarado riding to win her second of the year for owner Doug Clyde and trainer Mike Anderson. Rachael Run is now 6 for 11 and regardless of the claiming price she may be running for, she is a racehorse.
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