Gulfstream: Fear the Cowboy Makes Triumphant Return in Skip Away (G3) –

By David Joseph —-

Fear the Cowboy Makes Triumphant Return in Skip Away (G3)
Who’s the Lady Stays Undefeated in $75,000 Any Limit

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Multiple-stakes winner Fear the Cowboy made a triumphant return to Gulfstream Park Saturday, closing well off the pace to win going away by three lengths in the $100,000 Skip Away (G3).

“He runs every time and runs so hard. He runs one mile, one mile and a sixteenth, one mile and an eighth,” trainer Efren Loza Jr. said. “He is a horse I ship to different racetracks and he always does good. He has heart.”

Fear the Cowboy made his first seven career starts in South Florida, the last being a victory in the Three Chopt Road Stakes at Gulfstream. The son of Cowboy Cal has raced primarily in Louisiana, with stops in Kentucky, Minnesota and Texas. The winner of last year’s Evangeline Mile finished second in the Maxxam Gold Cup at Sam Houston in his most recent start.”

Sent to post at 7-2, Fear the Cowboy settled off the pace set by Flashy Jewel, who was chased by favored Zulu and Team Colors along the backstretch. The Kentucky-bred 5-year-old began to make progress leaving the backstretch under jockey Jesus Rios before making an outside sweep on the turn into the stretch. Flashy Jewel and Zulu began to shorten stride in the stretch and were no match for the fresh legs of Fear the Cowboy, who drew off impressively to win his first graded stakes and awarding his trainer with his first graded-stakes success.

“We made the decision to come back to Gulfstream because the horse has run before here. He loves this track. We really liked the distance, one mile and an eighth,” Loza said. “We decided to bring him back to Gulfstream because the owners are from Florida and I’m from Florida. I’m happy. This is my first graded race [victory].”

Fear the Cowboy ran the 1 1 /8 miles in 1:51.81 to capture his seventh victory in 20 career starts.
“It went as we expected. I took the horse back and followed the speed and he finished strong. That was the plan and it went perfectly,” said Rios through an interpreter. “I was sure [I would get there] because the leader was declining and I had a lot of horse. My horse is a warrior. I am very happy to win a Grade 3.”

Zulu, the even-money favorite, finished second, a neck in front of Flashy Jewel.

“He ended up in a good position. He just kind of kept grinding it out, but no excuses. He was just second-best on the day,” trainer Todd Pletcher said.

Who’s the Lady Stays Undefeated in $75,000 Any Limit

Darsan Inc.’s Florida homebred Who’s the Lady, making her stakes debut for trainer Kathleen O’Connell, broke sharply and led all the way to keep her perfect record intact with a front-running three-quarter length victory in the fourth running of the $75,000 Any Limit.

Second choice at 8-5 in a field of seven 3-year-old fillies, Who’s the Lady ($5.20) ran six furlongs in 1:12.29 over a fast main track. Even-money favorite Cursor, racing for the first time since finishing fourth in the Tempted (G3) Nov. 5, was a head better than 20-1 long shot Fashion Runaway in second.

It was the fourth win in as many starts and third of the Championship Meet for Who’s the Lady, a bay daughter of Munnings whose victories have come by 1 ½ combined lengths, and the third on the afternoon for jockey Paco Lopez.

Who’s the Lady broke on top and ran the opening quarter-mile in 23.93 seconds, chased by Faith N Hope to her inside. Mia moved up to challenge on her outside after a half in 47.67, but Who’s the Lady remained in charge around the turn and powered down the stretch as Cursor and Fashion Runaway battled for second.

Truge, Faith N Hope, Colorincolonel and Mia completed the order of finish.

$100,000 Skip Away (G3) Quotes

Trainer Efren Loza Jr. (Fear the Cowboy): “We made the decision to come back to Gulfstream because the horse has run before here. He loves this track. We really liked the distance, one mile and an eighth. We decided to bring him back to Gulfstream because the owners are from Florida and I’m from Florida. This is my first graded race [victory].

“He runs every time and runs so hard. He runs one mile, one mile and a sixteenth, one mile and an eighth. He is a horse I ship to different racetracks and he always does good. He has heart.”

Jockey Jesus Rios (Fear the Cowboy): “It went as we expected. I took the horse back and followed the speed and he finished strong. That was the plan and it went perfectly. I was sure [I would get there] because the leader was declining and I had a lot of horse. My horse is a warrior. I am very happy to win a Grade 3.”

Margins: 3, neck, 1 1/4

Sunday’s Rainbow 6 Carryover $1.239 Million
Six of Six Saturday Return $40,000
Pegasus World Cup (G1) Winner Arrogate Leads Gulfstream Runners in Dubai
Gaffalione Wins $500,000 Spiral

The 20-Rainbow 6 survived Saturday at Gulfstream Park despite the opening leg of the sequence being won by a 99-1 longshot.

Sunday’s carryover in the Rainbow 6 will be $1,239,713.38. The Rainbow 6 has gone unsolved for 22 consecutive racing programs since it was last hit for $324,179.78 on Feb. 23.

Prosperity Mo kicked off the first race in Saturday’s Rainbow 6 and returned $206.40, making multiple winning tickets Saturday worth $40,227.72.

The popular multi-race wager’s jackpot is paid out only when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day’s pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool. However, on days when a mandatory payout is scheduled the entire pool is shared by those holding tickets with the most winners.

A mandatory payout has been scheduled for Sunday April 2, closing day of the 2016-17 Championship Meet.

There will also be a Super Hi 5 carryover Sunday of $3,562.64.

Pegasus World Cup (G1) Winner Arrogate Leads Gulfstream Runners in Dubai

Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) winner and Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner Arrogate rallied from last in a 14-horse field Saturday to impressively win the $10 million Dubai World Cup (G1). Arrogate was one of several horses who last raced at Gulfstream to run big over the Meydan track.

Arrogate won by 2 ¼ lengths over Gun Runner. Neolithic, who finished third in the Pegasus World Cup, finished third in the Dubai World Cup for trainer Todd Pletcher.

In other races, Grade I winner Mind Your Biscuits, second Feb. 25 in the Gulfstream Park Sprint (G3), rallied down the stretch to win the $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen. Long On Value, third in the Gulfstream Turf Sprint Jan. 28, rallied from far back to finish second in the Al Quoz Sprint. Trained by Bill Mott, Long On Value lost the $1 million event by a nose to The Right Man.

Hardacre Mile Gulfstream Park Handicap (G2) winner Sharp Azteca, trained by Jorge Navarro and ridden by Edgard Zayas, finished third in the $1 million Godolphin Mile.

Gaffalione Wins Spiral Aboard Fast and Accurate

Kendall Hansen’s Fast and Accurate, who won the Sage of Monticello Stakes at Gulfstream Feb. 20, won the $500,000 Spiral (G3) at Turfway Saturday.

The 3-year-old son of Hansen, trained by Mike Maker, was ridden by Gulfstream-based Tyler Gaffalione. The colt went off at odds of 24-1 and returned $51.

Gulfstream Park is a Stronach Group company, North America’s leading Thoroughbred racetrack owner/operator. The Stronach Group racetracks include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park & Casino, Golden Gate Fields, Portland Meadows, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, home of the world-famous Preakness. The company owns and operates the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida, and is one of North America’s top race horse breeders through its award-winning Adena Springs operation. The Stronach Group is one of the world’s largest suppliers of pari-mutuel wagering systems, technologies and services. Its companies include AmTote, a global leader in wagering technology; XpressBet, an Internet and telephone account wagering service; and Monarch Content Management, which acts as a simulcast purchase and sales agent of horseracing content for numerous North American racetracks and wagering outlets. The Stronach Group is also a leading producer of social media content for the horseracing industry.