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Best of Buddies upsets Hawthorne Derby Bar Three LLC's homebred BEST OF BUDDIES (Best of Luck) was never headed en route to a tally in the $250,000 Hawthorne Derby (G3) on Saturday. Guided by Eddie Martin Jr. for trainer Michele Boyce, the three-year-old gelding clicked off splits of :24 3/5, :49 3/5, 1:13 3/5 and 1:38, before completing the nine-furlong firm turf feature in 1:50 2/5. The margin of victory at the wire was merely a neck, and the unexpected winner gave back $26, $13.80 and $9 at odds of 12-1. Crested (GB) (Fantastic Light) closed from near the back to threaten late, but just missed in a fine runner-up performance. Sent off at 5-1, the chestnut paid $8.40 and $8.60 while completing the $155.40 exacta. Arbuckle Bandit (Service Stripe) loomed in midstretch but fell just two necks shy of the win, worth $11.60 at 18-1 for third. The trifecta returned a healthy $1,485.60. Sea of Trees (Belong To Me) finished off the $2,037 superfecta ($1) (1-2-4-3) at nearly 20-1, and was followed by 3-1 second choice Go Between (Point Given), 3-5 favorite Brilliant (War Chant), Creative Force (Red Ransom) and Tally Up (Service Stripe). Best of Buddies earned his second consecutive win over this turf course in moving his career mark to 13-5-1-2, while boosting his bankroll to $260,871. This marked the first stakes score for the dark bay, and also the initial stakes winner for his sire. The Illinois-bred winner is out of the Mister Frisky mare Perfectlywonderful, who has also produced a two-year-old colt named Nic the Quick (Nicholas), a yearling colt named Princeville Condo (Morluc) and an unnamed weanling filly by Best of Luck.
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