Slammed took her New Mexico speed to the bluegrass Saturday, running off with the GII Thoroughbred Club of America S., a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint. Having racked up a six-for-eight record last term with romping stakes wins at Ruidoso, Albuquerque and Zia Park, the bay added a Sunland Park stakes victory in February. Leading regional conditioner Todd Fincher brought a string to Del Mar for the summer, and among that group was Slammed, who scored a 5 1/4-length allowance tally July 8 before finishing second at odds-on in the GIII Rancho Bernardo H. Aug. 28.
Zipping right out to the front as expected, the bay doled out splits of :22.75 and :46.02 with Happy Soul breathing down her neck. She shook free of that foe at the head of the lane, and nobody else came running as Slammed ran up the score.
“It was good, just like she did in the morning, very professional,” said winning rider Florent Geroux. “She knows what to do out there. I'm very pleased for the opportunity from Mr. Fincher and the owners and my agent for getting me the mount. I was just the lucky recipient today on her. Very excited about her. She relaxed very nicely [in the middle of the race]. You can tell on television, when their ears start going back and forth, it's usually a good sign that the horse is taking their time and having fun out there. As soon as I chirped to her a little bit at the three-sixteenths [pole], I had plenty of horse left and I just tried to keep her focus all the way to the wire. But that was really a result of strong urging.”
It's been a productive eight days in Kentucky for Fincher, who also sent out Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) a victory in the GIII Ack Ack S. last week at Churchill, which was a “Win and You're In” for the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.
“Really, my only concern was getting away from the gate good and clean,” Fincher said of the winner's trip. “Last time she slipped behind and it cost her, so when I saw those turquoise blinkers jump out of the gate I was very happy. I looked up after the first quarter and it went in :22 3/5, I said, 'If she gets beat we have no excuse,' because the fractions weren't too bad–she can go much faster. So, very happy. And you saw what she did down the lane. She had a lot left. She's an awesome horse.”
He added, “I'm more proud of the horse than anything. I'm just the trainer. The horses are the superstars. She's a superstar and we're just trying to stay out of her way.”
Saturday, Keeneland
THOROUGHBRED CLUB OF AMERICA S.-GII, $320,163, Keeneland, 10-8, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f, 1:10.03, ft.
1–SLAMMED, 120, f, 4, by Marking
1st Dam: Hennesey Smash (MSW, $252,006),
by Roll Hennessy Roll
2nd Dam: Some Smash, by Rare Brick
3rd Dam: A Smash, by Star de Naskra
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-Brad King, Suzanne Kirby and
Barbara M. Coleman; B-Brad King & Todd Fincher (NM);
T-Todd W. Fincher; J-Florent Geroux. $179,025. Lifetime
Record: 12-9-1-0, $557,030. *1/2 to Roll On Diabolical
(Diabolical), MSW, $154,450; 1/2 to Smash Ticket (Midnight
Lute), SW & GSP, $218,320. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for
the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com
catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Happy Soul, 118, f, 3, Runhappy–Cowgirl Lucky, by Stephen
Got Even. ($50,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Gayla Rankin; B-Harris
Training Center, LLC (KY); T-Wesley A. Ward. $67,375.
3–Joyful Cadence, 120, f, 4, Runhappy–Arabian Song, by
Forestry. ($90,000 Wlg '18 KEENOV; $235,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP).
O-WSS Racing, LLC; B-Scott & Debbie Pierce (KY); T-John
Alexander Ortiz. $33,688.
Margins: 6HF, HF, 1 1/4. Odds: 2.39, 5.22, 9.17.
Also Ran: Li'l Tootsie, Club Car, Sconsin, Liberty M D, Palm Cottage. Scratched: Carribean Caper. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
Pedigree Notes:
Slammed becomes the first graded stakes winner for her sire, a 'TDN Rising Star' and Godolphin homebred by Bernardini out of MGISW Seventh Street (Street Cry {Ire}) who was second to Runhappy in the 2015 GI Malibu S.
Dam Hennesey Smash never ventured out of the Southwest, but was seven-for-eight lifetime for Fincher and owner/breeder Barbara Coleman. Roll Hennessy Roll, a top New Mexico sire and source of speed and precociousness, was himself represented by his first graded winner as a broodmare sire Saturday.
Hennesey Smash is half to four other New Mexico stakes standouts, and her 3-year-old filly Smash Ticket was third in the 2021 GII Sorrento S. for Fincher and most recently aired in Pimlico's Weather Vane S. for Rob Atras Sept. 24. Her now 2-year-old unraced colt Arro Smash (Arrogate) was a $360,000 KEESEP yearling, and she produced a Star Guitar colt in 2022 before visiting City of Light.
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