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Wicked Strong rebuffs Tonalist, wins Jim Dandy going away
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| Wicked Strong responded well
to the addition of blinkers
(NYRA/Adam Coglianese Photography) |
Displaying a new dimension with the addition of blinkers, Wicked Strong raced
up close from the start of Saturday's Grade 2, $600,000
Jim
Dandy at Saratoga
and easily proved best in the end, turning back a stretch bid from Belmont
Stakes winner Tonalist to post a 2 1/4-length decision.
Rajiv Maragh was up on the Jimmy Jerkens-trained colt, who turned the tables
on Tonalist after finishing a close fourth in the Belmont, and the Centennial
Farms' colorbearer will bring plenty of momentum into his next engagement, the
$1 million Travers on August 23.
"This is great. This is really great," Jerkens said. "The way he works, I don't think Secretariat worked any better than this horse does
in the morning. I know the talent's there. It's just getting him to put it all
together."
"He kind of put it all together today and put on a good performance," Maragh
added. "He was very aggressive today, he put me in the race which I was happy
about.
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"Tonalist made a bold move and I thought, 'It's going to be a good horse
race' from there, and Wicked Strong dug in and found extra and pulled away at
the end."
Breaking from the far outside among six rivals, Wicked Strong established a
forward position after brushing the gate at the start. Legend sped to the front
from his innermost post but was being closely pursued by a host of challengers,
with Ulanbator and Kid Cruz to his immediate outside and Wicked Strong four wide
pressing the action as the field entered the first turn.
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| Wicked Strong finished full
of run as Tonalist gave futile chase in deep stretch
(NYRA/Adam Coglianese/Chelsea Durand) |
Wicked Strong advanced to challenge Legend as Ulbanator and Kid Cruz dropped
back rounding the opening bend. After a quarter-mile in :24 2/5, Legend and
Wicked Strong were side-by-side entering the backstretch and continued to travel
in tandem through splits of :47 and 1:11 1/5 for six furlongs.
Legend began to retreat on the far turn and Wicked Strong approached the
stretch drive clinging to a narrow lead, with Tonalist advancing to challenge on
the outside. That rival stalked the front-runners in third down the backstretch,
moved three wide into contention on the far turn and loomed a serious danger
turning for home.
Wicked Strong reached the mile mark in 1:36 1/5 with a half-length lead over
Tonalist and a tight battle through the final furlongs appeared possible, but
any drama was short-lived as Wicked Strong responded to the urgings from his
rider and started to kick clear after passing the eighth pole. He won going away
under the wire, completing 1 1/8 miles in 1:49 over the fast track.
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Off as the 2-1 second choice, Wicked Strong paid $6.40 to win after showing
early speed for the first time in his nine-race career.
"It was a different dimension today where he was up close to the pace, and he
didn't get by (Legend) too easy," Jerkens said. "He had to run to get the best
of him, and then Tonalist was right there. I think he showed a lot of class
today."
The trainer noted that the blinkers appeared to keep Wicked Strong more
focused than before.
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Maragh celebrates and hopes to be back in the winner's circle
with Wicked Strong after the August 23 Travers
(NYRA/Adam Coglianese/Susie Raisher) |
"It might be my imagination but he always seemed to be running with his head
cocked to the outside in his other races," Jerkens explained. "I didn't really
notice that today. I thought he ran straight and true."
Tonalist, the 4-5 favorite following his victory in the final leg of the
Triple Crown, wound up settling for second, 3 3/4 lengths clear of 5-1 third
choice Kid Cruz in third. It was another 2 1/2-length margin back to Kentucky
Derby runner-up Commanding Curve, who was followed by Ulbanator and Legend.
Cousin Stephen was scratched after finishing last in Friday's Curlin Stakes,
which was won by Wicked Strong's stablemate, V.E. Day.
Jerkens indicated that both three-year-olds will run in the Travers.
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"We're going to think that way, that's for sure," Jerkens said of possibly
running both colts in the Travers. "A big race like that, a mile and a quarter,
you've got to try it. Tracks are different every day, but (V.E. Day) ran a
second slower than Wicked Strong which isn't bad. He has improved in leaps and
bounds with each race. Those kinds of horses usually have a lot of quality."
The Jim Dandy marked the second stakes victory for Wicked Strong, who
recorded a 3 1/2-length victory in the Grade 1 TwinSpires.com Wood Memorial in
April, and the bay colt finished a troubled fourth in the Kentucky Derby two
starts previously. With Saturday's $360,000 payday, he pushed his career
earnings past $1 million mark ($1,244,610) and his ledger reads 9-3-1-1.
Wicked Strong is a son of Hard Spun and hails from a nice female family. He
is out of Moyne Abbey, a daughter of 1999 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner
Charismatic, and Wicked Strong's second maternal dam, the stakes-placed With
Approval mare Classic Approval, produced multiple Grade 3 hero Gulch Approval as
well as stakes winners Approval Rating and Rusty Slipper.
Multiple Grade 1 winner and sire Student Council is also part of this
immediate female family.
Wicked Strong was bred in Kentucky by William F. Lynn and sold for $375,000
as a 2012 Keeneland September yearling. He broke his maiden in his second start
at Belmont Park last October and concluded his juvenile campaign with a close
third in the Grade 2 Remsen.
Centennial, which is based in Massachusetts, renamed the colt early last year
in honor of those affected by the Boston Marathon bombings.
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