Nikki's Sandcastle goes one better in Fayette
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Richard Sherman's homebred Nikki's Sandcastle rolled home to take Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 Stakes at Keeneland, improving upon his runner-up finish in the closing-day feature here last October. The 11-1 chance took a fierce hold much of the way while Leandro Goncalves tried to get him to settle behind horses, but he still had plenty left for the stretch drive to earn his first graded victory. In the early going, Set the Sail established fractions of :23 4/5, :48 and 1:12 1/5, pressed throughout by Ol Army. Lea, Villandry and Finnegans Wake took up stalking spots as Nikki's Sandcastle was a tugging seventh. Winning Cause, well back early, eventually worked his way into contention. The 5-2 favorite Willcox Inn, on the other hand, was unable to maintain his midpack position and dropped back to the rear, ultimately checking in last. The Fayette turned into a free-for-all at the top of the stretch. Winning Cause and Finnegans Wake launched bids, but wider out, Nikki's Sandcastle was striking top gear. Delighted to be turned loose, the David Kassen charge skipped 1 1/4 lengths clear and completed 1 1/8 miles on Polytrack in 1:48. "I was in traffic the whole way from the first turn," Goncalves said. "I had to check five or six times. I didn't have anywhere to go. Turning for home, I was able to get him outside. I had so much horse, it worked out great, and he gave me a good kick." |
Kassen admitted that he was concerned about the trip.
"I was thinking, 'When's he (Goncalves) every going to be able to let him
run? He just kept pulling him up the whole race practically, but it worked out
good in the end," the trainer said.
"I knew he had a lot of horse, but usually when you strangle one that long,
they just give it up on you. But he kept on -- pretty good horse."
Winning Cause was best of the rest by 1 1/4 lengths from You Know I Know, who
rallied from last to grab third. Finnegans Wake held fourth from Lea, and
Villandry, Ol Army, Set the Sail and Willcox Inn rounded out the order of
finish.
Nikki's Sandcastle rewarded his backers with a win mutuel of $25.80. The
chestnut gelding had entered last year's Fayette on the upswing, with a victory
in the Sea O Erin and close seconds in the Edward J. DeBartolo Memorial and
Robert F. Carey Memorial Handicaps. After his second to Newsdad in the 2012
Fayette (where Take Charge Indy was third), Nikki's Sandcastle went on to land
both the Claiming Crown Emerald and the El Prado over the Gulfstream turf.
Winless in four outings this season, the six-year-old was fourth in the
January 12 Ft. Lauderdale and sixth in the February 16 Mac Diarmida before
heading to the sidelines. Nikki's Sandcastle returned with a sixth in an
Arlington optional claimer on July 27, and an encouraging third versus similar
over the same turf course August 17. This new career high advanced his resume to
35-9-9-4, $518,907.
The aptly-named Kentucky-bred is by Castledale and out of the winning Sandpit
mare Sandtina.
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