Unbridled's Note calls the tune in Daytona

Mike McCarty's Unbridled's Note justified 3-2 favoritism in Saturday's Grade

3, $100,500

Daytona

Stakes at Santa Anita, but only after mastering a stubborn El Commodore in

deep stretch. A high-class turf sprinter who has yet to run a bad race on the

downhill course, Unbridled's Note got up by a half-length while finishing about

6 1/2 firm-turf furlongs in 1:11 4/5.

Speed merchant Truest Legend reeled off fractions of :21 4/5 and :43 1/5,

chased by El Commodore. Unbridled's Note, reserved in fifth early by Corey

Nakatani, crept closer as the field swung for home.

Straightening into the stretch, Truest Legend gave way abruptly as though

something went amiss. El Commodore burst to a daylight lead, in hopes of being a

super-sub for his sidelined stablemate Caracortado, the 2012 Daytona winner.

Then Unbridled's Note loomed to challenge, and the duel was on. El Commodore

fought mightily to repel the favorite, but could not fend off the final lunge by

Unbridled's Note. The Steve Asmussen-trained winner rewarded his legions of fans

with a payout of $5.

"It was pilot error his last race," Nakatani said, alluding to his

half-length loss in the December 8 Hollywood Turf Express. "I thought he was

going to be all right since there was no pace in that race, but when you come

out of the gate at Hollywood, after a sixteenth of a mile or so, it turns. He

thought he was supposed to go, and like I said I should have let him do his

thing that day, instead of trying to stop him.

"Today, we got the trip we wanted to get and it all worked out. As honest as

he is and as hard-trying a colt as he is I just have to thank the connections

for keeping me on him. He's a gem to ride and he's only getting better with age.

He's back, he's at his home track now and it was a great win."

"He loves this course," assistant trainer Scott Blasi noted, "and he got a

lot better trip than he got at Hollywood. We were happy with where we were at.

Corey gave him a great ride."

Mike Machowsky, the trainer of El Commodore, was pleased with his near-miss.

"He ran great -- great ride by Gary (Stevens), no complaints," Machowsky

said. "He'll be back in one of these races. This distance seems to suit him and

he was well clear of the rest of the field, so I think we'll try again."

The top two were in a race of their own, 4 1/4 lengths clear of Gallant Son,

who stumbled and went to his nose at the break, but made a terrific recovery for

third.

"He grabbed a quarter and he tore his shoe apart," jockey Isaias Enriquez

revealed about Gallant Son. "The first jump, he went to his knees, but I wasn't

going to force him after that. I was going to nurse him because he's such a nice

horse, but after a sixteenth of a mile, he grabbed the bit and said 'Let's go.'

I said, all right, boy, if you wish, we're going to go. He's all heart. He's the

best horse I ever rode in my life."

Next came Chips All In, Handsome Mike, Ain't No Other and the eased Truest

Legend, who was vanned off the course. Next Speaker was withdrawn.

Unbridled's Note has compiled a record of 16-5-3-4, $636,683, reflecting

three stakes wins (all on this course) and seven stakes placings. Once on the

2012 Kentucky Derby trail when ninth in the Southwest and last of 12 in the

Rebel, the Unbridled's Song colt shortened up to sprints and enjoyed better

results. He was third in both the Amsterdam and King's Bishop, hampered by a

nightmare trip in the latter.

Switched to the turf for the Eddie D., Unbridled's Note took effortlessly to

this unique course and defeated older horses for his first stakes victory. He

completed his sophomore season with a close second to Mizdirection in the

Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint and a third in the Malibu back on dirt.

Unbridled's Note opened 2013 with a photo-finish verdict over Chips All In

here in the February 23 Joe Hernandez Handicap. He reverted to dirt for his next

two, checking in second in the April 6 Potrero Grande and eighth in the May 4

Churchill Downs Stakes in the slop. Freshened over the summer, Unbridled's Note

resurfaced to defend his title in the September 27 Eddie D., missing by all of a

half-length in third. Fourth to Mizdirection when trying the Breeders' Cup Turf

Sprint again, he was a dead-heat second in the Hollywood Turf Express in his

latest.

"We'll have him here for the winter," Blasi added, "and hopefully we'll have

a series of races to run him in. He likes the course here, so this is the right

place to have him. He's actually run well on the dirt here, too, if you look at

his form, so we'll just see what's next."

Bred by Gulf Coast Farms and Unbridled's Song Syndicate in Kentucky,

Unbridled's Note brought $150,000 as a Keeneland January yearling. McCarty

purchased him for $140,000 as a two-year-old in training at OBS March. He is out

of the winning Siberian Express mare Siberian Fur, making him a half-brother to

multiple Grade 1 vixen Spoken Fur. Another half-sibling, the unraced Graciously

Soft, is the dam of Grade 3-placed My Name Is Michael. His extended family

includes such notable turf performers as multiple Grade 3 queens Keertana and

Snow Top Mountain, as well as two-time Italian highweight Knifebox.

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