Long Weekend (Majesticperfection) just got his head down on the line to gamely defeat 'TDN Rising Star' Echo Town (Speightstown) in Saturday's $100,000 Bachelor S. at Oaklawn Park in a race that didn't deserve a loser.
Last term's GI American Pharoah S. winner 'TDN Rising Star' Eight Rings (Empire Maker), off since a well-beaten sixth-place finish in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, faded to fifth as the 4-5 favorite.
Drawn widest of all in post six, Long Weekend shot out to the front and was greeted immediately by Echo Town with Eight Rings placed in a tracking third as they sped through an opening quarter in :21.82. Those three lined up as they hit the top of the stretch and the stage was set. Eight Rings didn't go on as they straightened, but the top two were more than willing to put on a show. Long Weekend kept on fighting from along the rail down the lane, and refused to back down in an absolute thriller.
A 'runaway' debut winner at Churchill Downs with the riderless subsequent graded winner Dennis' Moment (Tiznow) shadowing him down the stretch after losing his pilot at the start last June, Long Weekend was given the rest of his 2-year-old season off following a head-scratching distant sixth in the GII Saratoga Special S. Aug. 10. The bay entered the Bachelor with two very impressive victories at three, led by a career-best 95 Beyer Speed Figure in his last out win in this track's Gazebo S. Mar. 21.
Long Weekend, a :20 3/5 breezer out of last year's OBS April sale, is out of a stakes-placed half-sister to Grade I-winning sprinters Paulassilverlining (Ghostzapper) and Dads Caps (Discreet Cat). Dam Liza Too is also responsible for the 2-year-old colt Flying With Angels (Ghostzapper) ($500,000 FTSAUG yearling purchase by West Point, et al) and a yearling filly by More Than Ready. She was bred to Ghostzapper for the 2020 season.
BACHELOR S., $100,000, Oaklawn, 4-25, 3yo, 6f, 1:09.63, ft.
1–LONG WEEKEND, 119, c, 3, by Majesticperfection
1st Dam: Liza Too (SP, $116,448), by Olmodavor
2nd Dam: Seeking the Silver, by Grindstone
3rd Dam: Apache Pines, by Pancho Villa
($225,000 2yo '19 OBSAPR). O-BCWT Ltd; B-Woodford Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Thomas M Amoss; J-Joseph Talamo. $60,000. Lifetime Record: 5-4-0-0, $193,928.
2–Echo Town, 119, c, 3, Speightstown–Letgomyecho, by Menifee. ($100,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP). O-L and N Racing LLC; B-Betz, J Betz, Burns, CHNNHK Thoroughbreds, Magers, CoCo Equine & R (KY); T-Steven M Asmussen. $20,000.
3–Lykan, 119, c, 3, Congrats–Up to Speed, by Papa Clem. ($6,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP; $15,000 2yo '19 OBSOPN). O-Muddy Waters Stables LLC & Ingrid Mason; B-Richard Holder (KY); T-Ingrid Mason. $10,000.
Margins: HD, 5, 1 1/4. Odds: 2.10, 3.20, 36.10.
Also Ran: Little Menace, Eight Rings, Sir Rick. Scratched: Beau Oxy, Ginobili, Liam's Pride. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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