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Smooth Air was a surprise winner of the Hutcheson
(Eleanor Gustafson/Horsephotos.com) |
Mount Joy Stables' homebred SMOOTH AIR (Smooth Jazz) was overlooked in the
wagering for Saturday's $150,000
Hutcheson S. (G2) at Gulfstream Park, leaving the gate as an unheralded 9-1
in the first graded stakes of 2008 for three-year-olds on the dirt. In the
stretch, however, the Calder-based bay swept to the front and maintained his
momentum all the way to the line, upsetting his more fancied rivals. Trained by
Bennie Stutts Jr. and ridden by Manoel Cruz, Smooth Air reeled off seven
furlongs in 1:23 1/5 on a sloppy, sealed track to become the first stakes winner
for his first-crop sire.
In the opening stages, Tiz It (Tiznow) flashed speed from the rail, pressed
by Silver Edition (Silver Deputy) and Golden Spikes (Seeking the Gold) through
torrid fractions of :22 and :44 2/5. Midway on the far turn, the early leader
began to tire and soon gave way to Silver Edition, who seized control and
appeared to be full of run as he led the way into the stretch. Meanwhile, Smooth
Air was just commencing his rally from midpack. After darting through rapidly on
the inside, Smooth Air angled to the outside and took dead aim on Silver
Edition. The eventual winner collared Silver Edition at the eighth-pole and
gradually increased his margin to one length at the wire.
"This horse has improved a lot," Cruz said. "I have been saying to
the trainer that this horse will get better with longer races. He showed
that here. He held himself up well for me. He was jumping shadows early
in the race, so I had to take him close to the other horses to keep his
attention. If he hadn't done that early in the race, he probably would
have beaten that horse by even more. That's a good boy right there."
"The Calder horse did well," Stutts said. "You should never count
them out. I've been training for 40 years, and this is the biggest race
I've ever won."
Ranking as the sixth choice in an eight-horse field, Smooth Air rewarded his
backers with payouts of $20.60, $9.40 and $5.40. The nearly 14-1 Silver Edition
stayed on stubbornly in a fine runner-up effort, yielding $12.20 and $6.20. It
was another three lengths back to near 5-2 favorite Halo Najib (Halo's Image),
who checked in third and paid $2.80 to show. The $1 exotics totaled $88.10
(exacta), $378.70 (trifecta) and $2,510.80 (5-6-4-9 superfecta) with Golden
Spikes finishing 3 3/4 lengths adrift of Halo Najib in fourth. Big Truck (Hook
and Ladder) came in fifth in the strung-out field, trailed by Tiz It, Coal Play
(Mineshaft) and Notgivinmyloveaway (Not for Love). Grand Minstrel (Grand Slam)
and Cool Coal Man (Mineshaft) were scratched.
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