Shadwell Stable’s INVASOR (Arg) (Candy Stripes) made his North American debut
a winning one on Friday in the $500,000
Pimlico Special H. (G1),
collaring the
4-5 favorite, Wanderin Boy (Seeking the Gold), in deep stretch.
Wanderin Boy fulfilled bettors’ expectations
early, jumping to the lead and maintaining his advantage through splits of :24,
:47 2/5, 1:10 4/5 and 1:35 1/5 with Invasor tracking the pace to his outside. As they exited the far turn, Invasor started moving backward and it
looked as if he would be no match for the favorite, but the Kiaran McLaughlin
charge found renewed energy under jockey Ramon Dominguez. In upper stretch,
Wanderin Boy started drifting to the outside, which allowed room for Invasor to re-rally to the inside under left-handed pressure from Dominguez.
Despite Dominguez losing his rein as the pair neared the wire, Invasor was able
to overcome the Nick Zito trainee by 1 1/4 lengths, completing the 1 3/16-mile
affair over a fast track in 1:54 2/5.
But the suspense didn’t end there. Dominguez, who had successfully lodged an
objection to win the Black-Eyed Susan S. (G2) via disqualification one race
earlier aboard Regal Engagement (Cat Thief), had to himself overcome an objection. This time, Norberto
Arroyo, Jr., who had piloted the disqualified Smart N Pretty (Elusive Quality)
in the Black-Eyed Susan, lodged an objection against the winner, alleging that Invasor bumped
and interfered with his mount, West Virginia (Tomorrows Cat). Arroyo’s claim of foul was
disallowed and Invasor was declared the official winner.
“I was pretty impressed not only because he won the race, but the way he did
it,” Dominguez said. “To come off the bridle and to be able to regroup and win
the race shows signs of a lot of ability and quality.”
Sent off at 6-1, Invasor returned $15.40, $4.60 and $3.20 while leading
exotics of $40.20 (exacta), $126.60 (trifecta) and $75.40 for the 4-3-2-6
superfecta ($1). Wanderin Boy gave back $2.60 and $2.10 for second while West
Virginia finished another 3 3/4 lengths back to pay $3.20 at nearly 5-1 for the
bronze position. Harlington (Unbridled) and We Can Seek (Chi) (Seeker’s Reward)
rounded out the order of finish. Funny Cide (Distorted Humor) was scratched in
favor of the William Donald Schaefer H. (G3) on the Preakness S. (G1) undercard
Saturday.
“That was a great ride by Dominguez,” McLaughlin said. “At the eighth-pole, I
didn’t think we’re going to get there.
“He did surprise me a bit,” continued McLaughlin. “We liked him, but when
you’re up against these type horses, you don’t know where you stand. So I’m
pleasantly surprised. When he ducked to the inside, that’s when he started
running. I thought we were going to be a good second there for a minute, but he
just kept running on.”
Bred in Argentina by Haras Clausan, Invasor is out of the Interprete
mare Quendom. The winner of the Triple Crown in Uruguay last year, the
four-year-old colt improved his record to 7-6-0-0. He suffered his only career
loss when fourth in the U.A.E. Derby (UAE-G2) to Discreet Cat (Forestry). With the $300,000 allotted
the winner, Invasor increased his earnings to $514,070.