|
|
It's No Joke in Hawthorne Gold Cup Stan Fulton's IT'S NO JOKE (Distorted Humor) tracked pacesetter Flamethrowintexan (Way West [Fr]) until the far turn, opened up a clear lead at the top of the stretch, and held sway over the late-running A.P. Arrow (A.P. Indy) for a one-length victory in Saturday's $500,000 Hawthorne Gold Cup H. (G2). With jockey Eusebio Razo guiding the Rebecca Maker-trained four-year-old colt, It's No Joke registered his first graded win and paid $17.80, $7.40 and $4.60 as the near 8-1 fourth choice in the seven-horse field. Runner-up in the Turfway Park Fall Championship S. (G3) in his previous outing, the dark bay colt raced in second behind fractions of :23 3/5, :47 3/5 and 1:11 3/5 for the opening three-quarters of a mile. Flamethrowintexan led by only a head through a mile in 1:37 3/5, and It's No Joke quickly blew past the pacesetter to open a clear lead in midstretch. A.P. Arrow, the 6-5 favorite, rallied determinedly to reach contention but could never seriously threaten the winner, who finished 1 1/4 miles over the fast track in 2:03 4/5. The runner-up returned $2.80 and $2.40, and Kid Grindstone (Grindstone), who rallied for third, another eight lengths back at 11-1, gave back $5.60. The exacta tallied $50.40, and the trifecta $305.40. Summer Book (Notebook) capped the $907.10, 2-4-5-1 superfecta ($1) and was followed under the wire by Flamethrowintexan, Papi Chullo (Comeonmom) and Nolan's Cat (Catienus). Winner of the Bet on Sunshine H. at Churchill Downs in July, It's No Joke has also placed in the Gulfstream Park H. (G2) and West Virginia Governor's S. this year. With Saturday's $300,000 payday, he more than doubled his lifetime earnings to $545,658 from a 14-6-1-3 line. Bred in Kentucky by WinStar Farm, It's No Joke sold for $675,000 at the 2004 Keeneland September sale and is the third registered foal out of the multiple Grade 3-winning It's Personal (Personal Flag), who is also the dam of the unraced juvenile filly Andmoreagain and a yearling colt, both full siblings to It's No Joke. It's Personal is a half-sister to Grade 2 winner Bad 'n Big (Inverness Drive).
 Send this article to a friend
|
|
