Romansh demolishes field in Discovery

Godolphin Racing's Romansh captured his first graded stakes by an astounding

9 1/4 lengths in Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000

Discovery Handicap at Aqueduct as the near 3-1 second choice and paid his

supporters $7.90 to win.

The Tom Albertrani pupil settled just off the pace on the outside as Midnight Taboo,

the 6-5 favorite with coupled entrant Micromanage, set the pace through opening fractions of :23 2/5 and

:47 1/5.

"I was just a passenger," jockey Jose Ortiz said. "I raced in third,

outside everybody, and had a beautiful trip. It turned out great."

Romansh started to make his move entering the far turn and caught up to the

leaders about halfway around. The three-year-old colt shot to the lead as the

field entered the stretch and continued to widen his advantage all the way to

the wire. He covered 1 1/8 miles in 1:48 1/5 over the fast main track.

Norumbega got up for second, a length in front of third-place finisher

Micromanage. Battier and Mr Palmer came in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Midnight Taboo, Vegas No Show and Bad Hombre completed the order under the wire.  

Romansh broke his maiden in his third start on May 25 over a muddy, sealed Belmont

track. He finished second, but was placed first through disqualification, in his

stakes debut in his next start in the Curlin Stakes at Saratoga on July 26. The

dark bay crossed the wire in fifth in the Travers the following month and was

coming off a well-beaten sixth in the Pennsylvania Derby on September 21.

"We were rebuilding," assistant trainer Pedro Mateo said.

"At Parx (Racing) he might not have liked the track, you never know. But he had

been training very well and we were hopeful he would run the way he did over the

summer. We always thought he was a nice horse and now he's maturing."

Romansh banked $120,000 for his second stakes win to increase his lifetime

earnings to $283,580 from a 7-3-0-1 career line.

Bred in Kentucky by Darley and Lynn B. Schiff, the son of Bernardini is out

of the multiple Grade 3-placed stakes-winning Go for Gin mare Cologny, who is a half-sister to

Grade 3-placed stakes winner Selective as well as stakes scorer Keep it S. S..

His third dam is Time Barrier, who is a full sister to multiple stakes victor Dontstopnow.

Romansh sold for $750,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearlings

Sale.

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