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Bold Hawk gets up in Hawthorne thriller Ronald, Justin and Patricia Nicholson's BOLD HAWK (Silver Hawk) found room in midstretch and outgamed 9-5 favorite Twilight Meteor (Smart Strike) at the wire to take the $250,000 Hawthorne Derby (G3) on Saturday. Trained by James Toner and piloted by Jean-Luc Samyn, the lightly raced three-year-old was unhurried early while saving ground on the inside, steadied along the far turn and buried behind a wall of horses in early stretch, then flew home once clear inside the final furlong. The bay gelding encountered a stern test from Twilight Meteor in the final stages but proved best in clocking the 1 1/8 miles in a swift 1:47 2/5 on the firm lawn. The 4-1 third choice paid $10, $4.80 and $3.40 while keying the $34.80 exacta, $421.60 trifecta and $3,063 superfecta (3-9-8-6). Twilight Meteor encountered some traffic of his own in the lane, surged when clear and fell just a head shy of the win in a strong runner-up performance. Place paid $3.20 and $2.80. Western Prize (Pure Prize) rallied well late while wide to garner the show at 23-1, good for $8, but unfortunately broke down after the wire. Voy Por Uno Mas (Mazel Trick) led from the start and was one length clear in the stretch, but tired to fourth at 8-1. Starvinsky (Stravinsky) was next and trailed by Summer Doldrums (Street Cry [Ire]), Love Dubai (E Dubai), Wheels Up at Noon (Outflanker), Ghazi Up (Ghazi), All I Can Get (Slew City Slew) and James the Greater (Temujin), who was eased prior to the finish. Bold Hawk captured his stakes debut to improve his lifetime line to 5-3-0-1, $213,376. The bay was bred by the Phillips Racing Partnership in Kentucky and produced from Grade 1 heroine Tribulation (Danzig), who captured the 1993 Queen Elizabeth II Invitational Challenge Cup S. (G1) and is a half-sister to 1987 QE II victress Graceful Darby (Darby Creek Road). Tribulation is also a full sister to the unraced Ameriflora, dam of Japan's 1997 champion two-year-old Grass Wonder (Silver Hawk) and multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire Wonder Again (Silver Hawk), who scored in the 2004 Diana H. (G1) and 2002 Garden City Breeders' Cup H. (G1).
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