Peter Vegso’s SILVER TREE (Hennessy) closed furiously along the inside to
claim a narrow victory over longshot Demeteor (Dehere) in the $100,000
Tropical
Turf H. (G3) at Calder Race Course on Saturday. Trained by Bill Mott and ridden
by Jerry Bailey, the 6-5 favorite traveled the 1 1/8 miles on the firm turf in
1:46 1/5.
Silver Tree put his supporters through a fair deal of suspense before
rewarding their confidence. The race began uneventfully enough. Keep Cool
(Frosty the Snowman) bounded out to take the lead, setting splits of :23 3/5, :47
4/5, and 1:11:1/5. Demeteor kept a watchful eye a length back in second. Bailey
artfully maneuvered Silver Tree into a comfortable hedge-hugging trip just
behind the leader, and as he crept up smoothly on the far turn with vast energy
still held in reserve, all he needed was a clear pathway.
When the field swung for home, the hoped-for seam failed to materialize. A
hard-charging Demeteor ranged up alongside Keep Cool and kicked for home. With
Silver Tree trapped, Bailey had to throttle down for a moment and switch to the
outside, losing valuable time as Demeteor stole a march on him and opened up a
clear lead in the stretch. Once Silver Tree saw daylight, he angled back toward
the inside and took his time to gather himself. With Demeteor reaching for the
wire, Silver Tree produced a telling burst of speed to grab the laurels by a
short neck. Settle Up (Kris S.) closed from the back to finish two lengths
behind in third, three-quarters of a length in front of Keep Cool.
“When you stay inside like that, you have to be patient and take what you are
given,” Bailey commented. “That’s why I had to wait as long as I did to move on
him.”
Silver Tree returned $4.60, $3.40, and $2.60. The unheralded Demeteor, sent
off at 41-1, provided windfalls of $22.40 and $10.40 and helped to boost the
exacta to $121.20. Settle Up paid $6 and, at odds of nearly 14-1, rounded out
the $1,176.60 trifecta. By salvaging fourth, the nearly 23-1 Keep Cool made the
superfecta (6-11-4-10) worth $16,428.60.
Completing the order of finish were Icy Atlantic (Stormy Atlantic), Cointreau
(Hennessy), Saint Stephen (Saint Ballado), Hotstufanthensome (Awesome Again),
Noble Masterpiece (Regal Classic), Stormy Ray (Storm Creek) and Bob’s Proud
Moment (Proud And True). Supervisor (Skip Trial) and Whos Crying Now (Concerto)
were scratched.
Silver Tree has advanced his career record to seven wins and nine placings in
23 starts, with earnings of $948,140. The Tropical Turf is his third stakes
coup, following scores in last year’s Bernard Baruch H. (G2) and the 2003
Virginia Derby.
Although this was his first victory of 2005, the five-year-old chestnut had
acquitted himself respectably against a couple of buzzsaws.
“He’s run against a
lot of tough horses and ended up second — like Artie Schiller (El Prado [Ire])
and Leroi(desanimaux) (Brz) (Candy Stripes),” Mott said. The horse “simply
wasn’t good enough, so we decided to pass the Breeders’ Cup this year,
recognizing his limitations.”
According to Mott, the Sunshine Millions Turf on
January 28 at Gulfstream Park is his next possible target.
Bred by his owner in Florida, Silver Tree is out of the multiple
stakes-placed With Approval
mare Blue Begum, making him a full brother to multiple Grade 3 winner
Orchard Park. He is the latest product of a female line that has left an
indelible mark on American racing. His granddam is a half-sister to Tiller (Herbager
[Fr]), a titan of the turf in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and Endear (Alydar),
a Grade 1 queen who earned lasting fame as the dam of two-time Breeders’ Cup
Mile (G1) hero Lure (Danzig).