Calder Race Course hosted the inaugural runnings of a pair of juvenile turf
stakes Saturday, the
Kris S. and
Cherokee Frolic, and both 1 1/16-mile races
featured exciting conclusions. In the Kris S. for males, Vinery Stables’ UP AN
OCTAVE (Brahms) got up in the final strides to nip 3-5 favorite Yankee Master
(Yankee Victor) by a head. A few races earlier in the Cherokee Frolic, Michael Dubb’s
CHRISTMAS STOCKING (Ops Smile) rallied boldly to catch runner-up Sprightly (Wild
Rush) by three parts of a length in deep stretch.
Up an Octave, who was making his turf bow for trainer Todd Pletcher, was off
as the 7-1 fifth choice in the 11-horse Kris S. and was unhurried early as Mr.
Silver (Concorde’s Tune) cut out reasonable splits of :23 1/5, :48 1/5 and 1:12
3/5 on the front end. Yankee Master was tracking in second most of the way and
grabbed the lead inside the sixteenth pole as the eventual winner, who had
advanced three wide on the bend under Chris DeCarlo, rallied into contention.
The dark bay colt still faced a difficult task to catch the heavy favorite, but
Yankee Master drifted out suddenly and Up an Octave surged gamely to his inside
to narrowly prevail.
“I didn’t think he was handling the inside part of the track (course) that
well so I put him in the middle of the track and he responded well,” DeCarlo
said. “We were driving, finishing strong in the stretch, but I wasn’t sure we
were going to get there. When the favorite ducked out we benefited for sure.”
Now 4-2-0-0 in his career, Up an Octave covered 8 1/2 furlongs over the good
turf in 1:44 and returned $17, $3.80 and $2.20 to his supporters. The runner-up
gave back $2.60 and $2.10, and Mr. Silver, who was 1 1/4 lengths back at 5-1,
paid $2.40. Rounding out the order of finish were Can’t Beat It (Atticus),
Allsmarts (Wised Up), Elizabul (Eltish), Belligerence (Robyn Dancer),
Star Commando (Outflanker), Sir Silver Fox (Kelly Kip), High Stakes Gamble (High
Yield) and Unimpeded (Runaway Groom). Gin Rummy King (Double Honor) was
withdrawn.
Bred in Kentucky by Dr. Jackie Huckabay, Jody Huckabay and Dr. Stuart Brown
and purchased for $140,000 at last year’s Keeneland September sale, Up an Octave
padded his bankroll to $89,500 with his first stakes victory. He’s out of the
Time for a Change mare Afleet Change, who has also produced a yearling filly by
Storm Boot and a weanling colt by Forest Camp.
In the Cherokee Frolic, 51-1 longshot Home Befor Midnite (Straight Man) broke
on top and established opening fractions of :24, :51 1/5 and 1:14 2/5 before relinquishing
her advantage to Sprightly, who took over just prior to the
one-mile marker, going that distance in 1:39 1/5. Despite the slow fractions,
Christmas Stocking, who had been rating in midpack, was able to rally on the
outside, passing Sprightly late to stop the teletimer in 1:45 1/5
under jockey Rafael Bejarano.
“Her sire and dam could both run a mile and a quarter, so I thought she would
stretch out,” trainer Anthony Dutrow said. “We brought her down there
(Miami) with this race and the (January 1) Tropical Oaks in mind.”
The gray filly, who recorded her second consecutive victory after breaking
her maiden by 6 1/4 lengths in her turf debut at Laurel Park, now shows a record of 6-2-1-2 with
$85,540 in earnings. Bred in Maryland by Patricia Runyon, Christmas Stocking is
out of the stakes-winning mare Christmas Shoes (Valley Crossing) and is a full
sister to a yearling colt named Chesapeake Affair.
Christmas Stocking left the gate as the 2-1 favorite and returned $6.60,
$4.40 and $4.40. Sprightly was able to hold on to second at 20-1 to give back
$12.20 and $8.60, while Warrior Girl, who was another length back at 30-1, paid $14.80 for
the show. Categorize (Menifee) rounded out the superfecta while Ocean Beauty (Anees),
Frozen Treat (Dynaformer), Interpretation (Freud), Home Befor Midnite, Meadow
Skippin (Skip Away), Musical Charm (Silver Charm), Bond Queen (Storming
Atlantic) and Survicat (Adcat) completed the order of finish. Good Intentions (Anet)
was scratched from the race.