Godolphin homebred Coliseum (c, 2, Tapit–Game Face, by Menifee) entered the starting gate with a lofty reputation and certainly lived up to the hype on debut at Del Mar Saturday, becoming another no-brainer 'TDN Rising Star' for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert.
Breaking out a bit from his inside draw, the striking gray quickly established command through a :22.88 opening quarter. The 1-2 favorite began to let it out a notch beneath Joe Talamo entering the far turn, kicked for home in complete command and was never asked for serious run while striding away to a jaw-dropping win. It was 6 3/4 lengths back to stablemate Figure Eight (Power Broker) in second.
Game Face, a $280,000 OBSMAR juvenile purchase by Zabeel Racing International, captured the 2009 GI Princess Rooney H. Game Face had a filly by First Defence in 2017. She was most recently bred to Candy Ride (Arg).
The off-shore bookmaker Bovada had Coliseum listed at 20-1 in its latest winterbook wagering for the Kentucky Derby prior to his debut win as reported in Bill Finley's Week in Review column earlier this week.
1st-Del Mar, $53,345, Msw, 11-17, 2yo, 7f, 1:23.13, ft.
COLISEUM, c, 2, by Tapit&log=">Tapit
1st Dam: Game Face (GISW, $799,348), by Menifee
2nd Dam: Galleon of Gold, by Gone West
3rd Dam: Harbour Club, by Danzig
Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $31,800. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
O/B-Godolphin, LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert.
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