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Baffert finds it E Z to dominate Triple Bend
E Z's Gentleman was given a masterful ride by Pedroza. A stalking second through an opening quarter in :22 4/5, he crept closer on the inside to prompt the leading M One Rifle (One Man Army) through a half-mile in :45. E Z's Gentleman drove to the front at the top of the stretch, and after getting six furlongs in 1:08 3/5, he roared away to complete seven furlongs in 1:21. The nearly 4-1 third choice in a seven-horse field, the winner paid $9.80, $4.80 and $3.20 while spearheading the $1 exotics -- $22.90 (exacta), $81.80 (trifecta) and $181.90 (1-6-4-3 superfecta). "Mike Smith (on M One Rifle) rode a great race," Pedroza offered. "He figured there was only two speeds, him and me. He kept me inside just enough so I could stay there. He was hoping I'd come around him and maybe he could steal the race. And who knows, if he got away he might have been tough. I said to myself, I'm here, and I'm not going to give up my position." "When (E Z's Gentleman) was dueling, I thought, 'Oh, no he doesn't run like that,'" Baffert said, "but he just put it to him (M One Rifle); he got aggressive with him from the inside. He got up in there and he got aggressive with him because he didn't want M One Rifle to sneak away because he can do that to you. Martin knew what he was doing."
E Z's Gentleman was originally trained by Ron McAnally. The bay stamped himself as a promising two-year-old at Del Mar in 2007, defeating future multiple Grade 1 winner Colonel John in a maiden. Unlike Colonel John, E Z's Gentleman failed to progress from that effort. He was unable to hit the board in 2008, and missed his entire 2009 season. Transferred to Baffert in advance of this campaign, E Z's Gentleman took some time to round into form for the new barn, but broke through with an allowance/optional claiming score at Santa Anita in March. He continued to go in the right direction, finishing third in the Potrero Grande H. (G2) at Santa Anita, easily winning an allowance in the Churchill Downs slop on Kentucky Derby Day, and finishing a game runner-up to Cost of Freedom (Cee's Tizzy) in the June 5 Los Angeles H. (G3) last time out. His Triple Bend coup improved his mark to 15-4-1-2, $299,711. "Recently, E Z's Gentleman has just gotten better and better with age," Baffert said. E Z's Gentleman was bred by Dixiana Stables in Kentucky. He brought progressively more each time he visited the sales ring -- fetching $57,000 as a Keeneland January yearling, $107,000 as a Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling, and finally $240,000 as a Barretts March two-year-old. E Z's Gentleman was produced by the stakes-winning Tensie's Pro (Distinctive Pro), whose youngest offspring are an unnamed yearling filly by Closing Argument and a 2010 filly by Count the Time. Although the recent generations of the family have been rather skimpy on black type, that picture is altered completely when going back to E Z's Gentleman's fourth dam, Ole Liz (Double Jay). Among her descendants are multiple Grade 1-winning millionaires Sabin (Lyphard) and Miss Oceana (Alydar), Grade 1 queen and $2 million earner Film Maker (Dynaformer), two-time champion steeplechaser Flat Top (Alleged), and Group 1 scorers Kitwood (Nureyev) and Magic of Life (Seattle Slew).
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