Twilight Meteor had no shortage of back class as a stakes performer for four
|
Following his long absence, Twilight Meteor resurfaced with Wolfson at Calder
and posted his first work back on September 9. He was ready to return in an
October 23 allowance, where he finished an encouraging third in an effort that
set him up for the Tropical Turf.
Twilight Meteor broke alertly from post 10, and jockey Luis Saez took the
initiative to control the pace. Although that was something of a plot twist,
given his history as a stalker, Twilight Meteor adapted well to the new tactics
and established fractions of :23 4/5, :47 2/5 and 1:11 3/5. Souper Spectacular
(Giant’s Causeway), the half-brother to Zenyatta who drew in from the
also-eligible list, moved up to track on the outside, but ultimately couldn’t
keep pace with the leader.
Twilight Meteor was still on cruise control on the far turn, and opened up by
daylight at the top of the stretch, but his battle-tested opponents were
starting to close the gap. Baletti (Gulch) briefly emerged as a danger to the
inside, and wider out, Rahy’s Attorney threw down the most menacing challenge of
all. Yet Twilight Meteor dug down and did not let him pass, preserving a neck
advantage at the wire to advance his record to 19-5-4-4, $636,944.
“Mr. Wolfson told me that this horse likes to run close to the lead, he
doesn’t have to be in front, but close to it,” Saez said. “He was running very
comfortably, so I just let him be there. He made the lead easily and in the
stretch, when he sensed the pressure of horses chasing him, I could tell he
wasn’t going to let them pass.”
“That one race after being off 19 months obviously did him a lot of good,”
Wolfson said. “The plan was for him to go to stud after his career with Todd,
but the market just wasn’t there, particularly for a turf horse.
“When John Fort (Peachtree owner) offered me the chance to try and bring him
back to the races, I was delighted. He’d beaten me in races so many times. It
was kind of like Miesque’s Approval (whom Wolfson rejuvenated to win the 2006
Eclipse Award as champion turf horse). We’ll look for the right race at
Gulfstream next.”
Rahy’s Attorney, the 5-1 fifth choice in the 12-horse field, returned $6.60
and $5. Baletti checked in another half-length back and provided $9.60 to show
at 12-1. The exacta was worth $237.40, the trifecta totaled $3,752.80, and the
10-12-8-14 superfecta paid $23,239.80 with the 4-1 Souper Spectacular a
one-paced fourth. Next came Bim Bam (Deputy Wild Cat), lukewarm 7-2 favorite
Midnight Mischief (Medaglia d’Oro), Pickapocket (Mecke), Rahystrada (Rahy),
Allie’s Event (Wild Event), Never on Sunday (Fr) (Sunday Break [Jpn]), El
Kingdom (El Prado [Ire]) and Tannersville (West Acre). Sincero (Repent) and
Dream Maestro (Concerto) were scratched, while the remaining also-eligibles
Black Scorpion (Scorpion) and Laureate Conductor (Bernstein) failed to get into
the field.
Bred by Kinghaven Farms in Ontario, Canada, Twilight Meteor was a $57,000
Keeneland November weanling who later went to Fort for
$150,000 as a Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling. He is out of the unraced With
Approval mare One Over Prime, who is herself a half-sister to Canadian champion
juvenile fillies Poetically (Silver Deputy) and Primaly (Alydeed); Grade 1 star
Citronnade (Lemon Drop Kid); Grade 3-winning sire Whiskey Wisdom (Wild Again);
and Mainly (Wild Again), the dam of current Japanese Grade 2 hero Sunrise Prince
(Agnes Tachyon).