|
Kobe's Back, Sprouts take Hollywood juvenile stakes
 |
| Kobe's Back captured the Willard Proctor in his career debut
(Benoit Photos) |
C R K Stable's Kobe's Back made his racing debut on Saturday in the $101,000
Willard L. Proctor
Memorial, the second of two stakes for juveniles on Hollywood Park's card, and
pulled out the 3 1/4-length win with Rafael Bejarano in the irons.
"It was unbelievable. This horse is
something else," Bejarano praised the two-year-old.
Trained by John Sadler, the gray colt broke in the air and found himself in
the back of the nine-juvenile field early. Bejarano didn't panic and allowed his
mount to settle just off the rail. Kobe's Back showed his greeness by coming out
entering the stretch and once again in upper stretch, but the talented runner
still took control to pull away in a final time of 1:05 2/5 for 5 1/2 furlongs
on the Curshion Track.
"He was standing good in the gate but he kind of jumped when it
opened," Bejarano explained. "I worked him twice from the gate and he never did that before. The last
time he broke so fast, I thought I was going to be two lengths in front today on
an easy lead. The way he ran today, I think he can come from behind, too."
"He had shown a lot in the morning, so I
wasn't overly concerned after the break," Sadler said. "We never let him run in the morning but
we knew it was there. He showed it without having a fast work. I knew he'd be
finishing. |
"It was a little bit of a difficult decision to run him from the
inside post. If he had drawn the outside post, it would have been Katy bar the
door. Usually when they're this expensive ($480,000 OBS March two-year-old), you wait a little bit
longer to start him, but he came out of the sale in good shape. We thought he
was a real good horse when we bought him and he showed it today."
With a name like Kobe's Back, it's only to be expected his connections have
high hopes.
"We're Laker fans and I
actually think Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest athletes ever. I've been going
for 17 years watching him play," C R K Stable's Lee Searing said. "We have all these
two-year-olds, so after Kobe got
hurt, I said I know he's coming back, so we came up with Kobe's Back. I don't
know Kobe, but the bottom line is I've admired him every day he's played
basketball."
The California-bred son of Flatter, who opened his account with the Proctor's $60,000
winner's share, is out of the Well Decorated mare
Well, making him a half-brother to last year's Grade 3 Jersey Shore victor Well
Spelled. That four-year-old hasn't been seen in action since taking the Gallant
Bob over champion Trinniberg on September 22.
Willie B Awesome, who is himself a full brother to last year's Santa Anita
Oaks queen Willa B Awesome, just held the rallying Solid Wager by a neck to take
second in the Proctor, with One More coming in fourth. Next under the wire were
California Chrome, Time for a Hug, Go First, Street Icon and Geldautomat.
 |
| Sprouts has grown into a stakes winner
(Benoit Photos) |
Earlier, J. Paul Reddam's homebred Sprouts continued to move forward when
posting a 3 1/2-length victory in the $100,250
Cinderella Stakes
under jockey Mari Gutierrez to get the stakes action off to a good start.
The bay juvenile miss came three wide in the lane, grabbed command in upper
stretch and pulled off to finish 5 1/2 furlongs on the Cushion Track in 1:05 2/5
for trainer Edward Freeman.
"I knew she got a lot out
of her first race," Gutierrez noted. "She's a real nice filly. Everything went
real well."
"She's improved so much. I
think it's just experience and maturity. The first race she definitely learned a
lot and grew up," Freeman agreed. "The second time (Gutierrez) was super
confident. Then she came back and worked beautifully for this race. I was pretty
confident going in. I thought she might get a speed duel in front of her and she
did."
The California-bred daughter of Square Eddie entered the Cinderella off a 5
1/2-length maiden victory on May 16, which followed an unplaced effort in her
debut in late April. Sprouts boosted her bankroll to $92,240 with the win and
now shows a 3-2-0-0 career mark.
Pleasant Miss followed in second, a length up on Time for Angie. On the
Backstreets, the even-money favorite filled the fourth spot wihle La Madera and
Pay the Debt completed the order under the wire after Sensational Nikki was
withdrawn.
|
Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
Send this article to a friend
| 
