Mike McCarty’s Unbridled’s Note justified 3-2 favoritism in Saturday’s Grade
3, $100,500
Daytona
Stakes at Santa Anita, but only after mastering a stubborn El Commodore in
deep stretch. A high-class turf sprinter who has yet to run a bad race on the
downhill course, Unbridled’s Note got up by a half-length while finishing about
6 1/2 firm-turf furlongs in 1:11 4/5.
Speed merchant Truest Legend reeled off fractions of :21 4/5 and :43 1/5,
chased by El Commodore. Unbridled’s Note, reserved in fifth early by Corey
Nakatani, crept closer as the field swung for home.
Straightening into the stretch, Truest Legend gave way abruptly as though
something went amiss. El Commodore burst to a daylight lead, in hopes of being a
super-sub for his sidelined stablemate Caracortado, the 2012 Daytona winner.
Then Unbridled’s Note loomed to challenge, and the duel was on. El Commodore
fought mightily to repel the favorite, but could not fend off the final lunge by
Unbridled’s Note. The Steve Asmussen-trained winner rewarded his legions of fans
with a payout of $5.
“It was pilot error his last race,” Nakatani said, alluding to his
half-length loss in the December 8 Hollywood Turf Express. “I thought he was
going to be all right since there was no pace in that race, but when you come
out of the gate at Hollywood, after a sixteenth of a mile or so, it turns. He
thought he was supposed to go, and like I said I should have let him do his
thing that day, instead of trying to stop him.
“Today, we got the trip we wanted to get and it all worked out. As honest as
he is and as hard-trying a colt as he is I just have to thank the connections
for keeping me on him. He’s a gem to ride and he’s only getting better with age.
He’s back, he’s at his home track now and it was a great win.”
“He loves this course,” assistant trainer Scott Blasi noted, “and he got a
lot better trip than he got at Hollywood. We were happy with where we were at.
Corey gave him a great ride.”
Mike Machowsky, the trainer of El Commodore, was pleased with his near-miss.
“He ran great — great ride by Gary (Stevens), no complaints,” Machowsky
said. “He’ll be back in one of these races. This distance seems to suit him and
he was well clear of the rest of the field, so I think we’ll try again.”
The top two were in a race of their own, 4 1/4 lengths clear of Gallant Son,
who stumbled and went to his nose at the break, but made a terrific recovery for
third.
“He grabbed a quarter and he tore his shoe apart,” jockey Isaias Enriquez
revealed about Gallant Son. “The first jump, he went to his knees, but I wasn’t
going to force him after that. I was going to nurse him because he’s such a nice
horse, but after a sixteenth of a mile, he grabbed the bit and said ‘Let’s go.’
I said, all right, boy, if you wish, we’re going to go. He’s all heart. He’s the
best horse I ever rode in my life.”
Next came Chips All In, Handsome Mike, Ain’t No Other and the eased Truest
Legend, who was vanned off the course. Next Speaker was withdrawn.
Unbridled’s Note has compiled a record of 16-5-3-4, $636,683, reflecting
three stakes wins (all on this course) and seven stakes placings. Once on the
2012 Kentucky Derby trail when ninth in the Southwest and last of 12 in the
Rebel, the Unbridled’s Song colt shortened up to sprints and enjoyed better
results. He was third in both the Amsterdam and King’s Bishop, hampered by a
nightmare trip in the latter.
Switched to the turf for the Eddie D., Unbridled’s Note took effortlessly to
this unique course and defeated older horses for his first stakes victory. He
completed his sophomore season with a close second to Mizdirection in the
Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint and a third in the Malibu back on dirt.
Unbridled’s Note opened 2013 with a photo-finish verdict over Chips All In
here in the February 23 Joe Hernandez Handicap. He reverted to dirt for his next
two, checking in second in the April 6 Potrero Grande and eighth in the May 4
Churchill Downs Stakes in the slop. Freshened over the summer, Unbridled’s Note
resurfaced to defend his title in the September 27 Eddie D., missing by all of a
half-length in third. Fourth to Mizdirection when trying the Breeders’ Cup Turf
Sprint again, he was a dead-heat second in the Hollywood Turf Express in his
latest.
“We’ll have him here for the winter,” Blasi added, “and hopefully we’ll have
a series of races to run him in. He likes the course here, so this is the right
place to have him. He’s actually run well on the dirt here, too, if you look at
his form, so we’ll just see what’s next.”
Bred by Gulf Coast Farms and Unbridled’s Song Syndicate in Kentucky,
Unbridled’s Note brought $150,000 as a Keeneland January yearling. McCarty
purchased him for $140,000 as a two-year-old in training at OBS March. He is out
of the winning Siberian Express mare Siberian Fur, making him a half-brother to
multiple Grade 1 vixen Spoken Fur. Another half-sibling, the unraced Graciously
Soft, is the dam of Grade 3-placed My Name Is Michael. His extended family
includes such notable turf performers as multiple Grade 3 queens Keertana and
Snow Top Mountain, as well as two-time Italian highweight Knifebox.
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