Prior to Saturday’s $750,000
Hollywood Gold Cup S. (G1), MAST TRACK (Mizzen Mast) had
run fifth in his only two stakes attempts — the 2007 Sir Beaufort S. (G3) and
this season’s Shoemaker Mile S. (G1). Breaking from his rail post in this event,
the lightly raced four-year-old proceeded to school his eight rivals, wiring the
1 1/4-mile test for Bobby Frankel, who was pulling triple duty as breeder, owner
and trainer.
With Tyler Baze aboard for the first time, Mast Track quickly showed to the
front when the doors opened and posted splits of :24 2/5, :48 4/5 and 1:12 4/5.
Tracking not far back were Student Council (Kingmambo), McCann’s Mojave (Memo
[Chi]) and Go Between (Point Given), reading and waiting for their chance to
pounce. As Baze went to work on Mast Track entering the turn, those three began
making up ground, with Student Council getting closest to the longtime leader
through a mile in 1:36 4/5. That was as close as any would get, as Mast Track
kicked into another gear and drew off to stop the clock in a stakes record 2:01
1/5 over the Cushion Track.
Sent off at 10-1, Mast Track paid $23.60, $11.20 and $7.40 while starting the
$93 exacta. Go Between got up to take second over last-out Pimlico Special H.
(G1) victor Student Council, returning $3.40 and $3. Show was worth $4 while
ending the $471 trifecta, and McCann’s Mojave finished fourth, completing the
1-7-6-8 superfecta that gave back $460.06. Big Booster (Accelerator), 5-2 second
choice Tiago (Pleasant Tap), Racketeer (Awesome Again), Perfect Drift
(Dynaformer) and Spice Route (GB) (King’s Best) came next under the wire.
Heatseeker (Giant’s Causeway), the 7-5 favorite on the morning line, was an
early scratch on Friday after developing a filling in his left front ankle.
The Kentucky-bred Mast Track has spent seven of his 10 career starts on the
turf, with the other three coming on Santa Anita’s Cushion Track and in this
event. Of those three, the bay colt has now racked up a line of 2-1-0 on the
all-weather surfaces, and he now boasts a 10-5-2-0 lifetime record with $614,622
in earnings.
Mast Track is out of the French Group 3 third-placer Nawal (Fr) (Homme de Loi),
making him a half-brother to Grade 2-placed Sagitta Ra (Run Softly). He has an
unnamed juvenile full sister and a 2008 half-sister by Aldebaran. This is the
same female line as French Group 3 heroine Kenbu (Fr) (Kenmare), who ran third in the
1992 English One Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) and Prix de la Foret (Fr-G1).