Saturday, Aqueduct
RED SMITH S.-GII, $200,000, Aqueduct, 11-20, 3yo/up, 1 3/8mT, 2:16.60, fm.
1–SERVE THE KING (GB), 124, h, 5, by Kingman (GB)
1st Dam: Fallen In Love (GB) (GSP-Eng), by Galileo (Ire)
2nd Dam: Fallen Star (GB), by Brief Truce
3rd Dam: Rise And Fall (GB), by Mill Reef
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. (260,000gns Ylg '17 TATOCT).
O-Peter M. Brant; B-Normandie Stud Ltd (GB); T-Chad Brown;
J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. $110,000. Lifetime Record: 11-5-2-1, $406,180.
*1/2 to Loving Things (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), GSW-Fr, SW &
GSP-Eng, $107,896. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Channel Cat, 126, h, 6, English Channel–Carnival Kitten, by
Kitten's Joy. O/B-Calumet Farm (KY); T-Jack Sisterson. $40,000.
3–Soldier Rising (GB), 118, g, 3, Frankel (GB)–Sahrawi (Ger), by
Pivotal (GB). (240,000gns RNA Ylg '19 TATOCT). O-Madaket
Stables LLC, Dubb, Michael, Bailey, Morris, Wonder Stables
and Michael J. Caruso; B-Dayton Investments Ltd. (GB);
T-Christophe Clement. $24,000.
Margins: NK, NK, HF. Odds: 2.05, 4.80, 3.35.
Also Ran: No Word, Shamrocket, Corelli, Sanctuary City,
Value Engineering, Price Talk, Tide of the Sea. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
Peter Brant's Serve the King and Irad Ortiz, Jr. bided their time in the early going of the GII Red Smith S. and while it appeared they might not make it up in time in Saturday's 11-furlong Big A feature, the English-bred found another gear late to best pacemaker Channel Cat by a neck. The latter, this season's GI Man O' War S. winner and sporting blinkers for the first time, went straight to the front, doling out early fractions of :24.96 and :50.02 with No Word (Silent Name {Jpn}) in pursuit while the 2-1 favorite lingered in a rail-skimming fifth. Still moving easily midpack down the backstretch, the Chad Brown trainee finally came off his inside perch and started to inch forward approaching the quarter pole. Fanned out five wide and with still a handful of rivals in front of him turning for home, the handsome bay appeared to idle for a moment at midstretch but came on in the final strides to eke out the win over the game pacesetter. Soldier Rising closed impressively to finish third over No Word.
“I had a really good trip,” said Ortiz, Jr. “He broke sharp and was forwardly placed. He put me in a good position, so I saved all the ground for the whole race. At the half-mile, I started moving and he responded really well. I was able to tip him out and when he hit the clear, he was running.”
He continued, “He was off the bit sometimes, but that's him. He's not a horse that's going to pull you all the way. That's not him. Sometimes, you have to wake him up and let him know he's running. He's there for you, that's the good thing.”
Serve the King hit the board in four of five starts last season, including a nine-furlong optional claiming win and a runner-up finish in the GIII Monmouth S. in October. Fourth in his first two starts of 2021, including in the 11-furlong GI United Nations S. in July, the 260,000gns Tattersalls October grad appreciated the extra yardage in Saratoga's John's Call S. at 13 furlongs Aug. 25 ahead of a second behind Rockemperor (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) in the GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic S. Oct. 9. “A lot of credit goes to my Monmouth crew, who really did a good job helping this horse,” said winning trainer Chad Brown. “As a younger horse, he was a little bit quirky and wouldn't want to train all the time and for whatever reason down there he has a comfortable situation and would train on. That's why he spent a lot of his time down there…After the Hirsch, we left him here and he picked right up and has been cooperative and he's fine now. My crew here did a great job. It was a real team effort from different divisions to keep this guy on track.”
Pedigree Notes:
With his GII Red Smith S. win, Serve the King became the 23rd graded/group winner for his sire and fourth in the U.S., each trained by Chad Brown. He is the second of Kingman's GSWs out of a Galileo, joining G3 Musidora S. victress Nausha (GB). Out of Group 2 placed Fallen In Love (GB), the 5-year-old is a half to French Group 3 scorer Loving Things (GB) (Pivotal {GB}). The 15-year-old mare is also represented by an unraced 3-year-old colt by Siyouni (Fr) and a juvenile colt by Fastnet Rock (Aus). Her latest produce is a weanling filly by Expert Eye (GB).
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