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Tiger burns brightly in Bold Ruler John and Susan Moore's TIGER (Storm Boot) made his stakes debut a winning one for trainer James Jerkens on Saturday when annexing the $104,700 Bold Ruler H. (G3) at Belmont Park. The five-year-old gelding raced in second under jockey Eibar Coa as Bishop Court Hill (Holy Bull) grabbed the early lead from the inside post and set blistering opening fractions of :21 2/5 and :44. Tiger passed the tiring pacesetter in the stretch and opened up 3 1/2 lengths by the time he hit the wire, traveling six furlongs in a snappy 1:08 2/5 over the fast track. "Today, he did everything on his own," Coa said. "He was chasing and caught up to Bishop Court Hill by himself. He wasn't even blowing hard after the race. It was a real impressive effort." Tiger left the gate as the 3-2 favorite to return $5, $3.10 and $2.30. Dark Cheetah (Storm Cat) managed to rally for second to give back $4.90 and $2.60 at 5-1, finishing a $21 exacta while Bishop Court Hill came home another 1 3/4 lengths back in third, returning $2.30 at 2-1 and rounding out the 3-5-1 trifecta which paid $53.50. Papua (Louis Quatorze) and Pisgah (Good and Tough) rounded out the order of finish. "I have to give the Moores a lot of credit," Jerkens said. "A lot of people would have run him for a ham sandwich when he wasn't doing any good. He's not one I would run back quick. I'm sure the Moores will be doing some research to find the right spot for him." Bred in Kentucky by William L. S. Landes III, Tiger is out of the Canadian stakes-winning mare Itstimetocelebrate (Timeless Native) and is a half-brother to 2000 La Troienne S. (G3) winner and Acorn S. (G1) third Roxelana (Boundary). Tiger RNA'd for $21,000 at the 2002 Keeneland October Yearling Sale and sold for $100,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale in 2003. With this first stakes victory to his credit, Tiger now holds an 8-4-1-0 record with $149,100 in earnings.
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