Klaravich Stables Inc.'s Competitionofideas (Speighstown) didn't enter Saturday's GI American Oaks at Santa Anita with quite the profile of a typical Chad Brown trainee competing at the highest level, but the result was what it usually is as the 5-1 shot inhaled her competition to give her conditioner his 20th Grade I win of 2018. The $325,000 KEESEP yearling dropped back to last and tucked in for a ground-saving trip as huge longshot K P Pergoliscious (Ire) (Declaration of War) showed the way through splits of :24.02, :47.86 and 1:11.95 with stablemate Amandine (GB) (Shamardal) in closest pursuit. Given her cue to quicken out wide heading for home, Competitionofideas leveled off powerfully in midstretch and blew away the embattled frontrunners late to air by 2 3/4 lengths. K P Pergoliscious fended off her much more heralded stablemate for second.
Saturday, Santa Anita
AMERICAN OAKS-GI, $301,035, Santa Anita, 12-29, 3yo, f, 1 1/4mT, 1:59.77, fm.
1–COMPETITIONOFIDEAS, 120, f, 3, by Speightstown
1st Dam: Devil by Design (GSW, $268,041), by Medaglia d'Oro
2nd Dam: Beauty's Due, by Devil His Due
3rd Dam: Beauty's Sake, by Lyphard's Ridge
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I
WIN. ($325,000 Ylg '16 KEESEP). O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.;
B-John D. Gunther, Tony Chedraoui & Eurowest Bloodstock
Services (KY); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Joel Rosario. $180,000.
Lifetime Record: 7-3-1-2, $315,568. Werk Nick Rating: A+++
*Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–K P Pergoliscious (Ire), 120, f, 3, by Declaration of War
1st Dam: Inkling, by Seeking the Gold
2nd Dam: Number, by Nijinsky II
3rd Dam: Special, by Forli
($70,000 RNA Ylg '16 KEESEP; $52,000 Ylg '16 FTKOCT). O-Karl
Pergola; B-Tower Bloodstock (IRE); T-Jeff Mullins. $60,000.
3–Amandine (GB), 120, f, 3, by Shamardal
1st Dam: Kissable (Ire), by Danehill Dancer (Ire)
2nd Dam: Kitty O'Shea (GB), by Sadler's Wells
3rd Dam: Eva Luna, by Alleged
O-Red Baron's Barn, LLC, Rancho Temescal, LLC & Shanderella
Stables; B-Lordship Stud (GB); T-Jeff Mullins. $36,000.
Margins: 2 3/4, HD, 1 1/4. Odds: 5.10, 90.70, 4.20.
Also Ran: Colonia (Fr), Paved, Princess Warrior, Californiagoldrush, Retro. Scratched: Kodiak West (Ire).
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
“She broke well, we saved ground, and we took one shot,” said Rosario, who himself has had a banner year and is in the conversation for an Eclipse Award. “I thought we would be closer but everybody wanted their spot so I just let her settle.
Close, but unable to break through in a trio of tries as the favorite in New York in the spring and early summer, Competitionofideas was off from July 22 to Sept. 7, when she cruised home an 8 1/2-length graduate at Belmont over three next-out winners. She followed up with an allowance tally some six weeks later, but settled for a belated third in the rained-off Winter Memories S. at the Big A Nov. 22.
Brown teamed up with Rosario earlier this month at Del Mar to annex both the GI Hollywood Derby and GI Matriarch S., and he sent out fellow Klaravich Stables colorbearer Identity Politics (Into Mischief) to a runner-up finish in the GI Malibu S. here on opening day Wednesday. This was the fifth Grade I of the year, with five different horses, for Seth Klarman's Klaravich.
“It's great to finish out the year like this,” said Brown's assistant Jose Fernandez. “This filly had settled in real good here at Santa Anita and she was doing good coming into this race. She finished up really strong today.”
Pedigree Notes:
Competitionofideas capped an incredible year for co-breeders John and Tanya Gunther, who were also responsible for the likes of Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy); homebred G1 St James's Palace S. hero Without Parole (GB) (Frankel {GB}); GII Wood Memorial S. winner Vino Rosso (Curlin); and Justify's half-brother The Lieutenant (Street Sense), who annexed the GIII All American S. back in May. Dam Devil By Design annexed the 2011 GIII Chicago H. for the Gunthers and Tony Chedraoui while under the care of Bill Mott. A $325,000 yearling herself, Competitionofideas's year-younger full-brother was Speightstown's priciest yearling of 2017 when he cost $900,000, but he died earlier this year. This Speightstown–Medaglia d'Oro cross has also produced MGISW sprinter Rock Fall and 'TDN Rising Star' and 2018 graded stakes winner Strike Power. Competitionofideas is the 99th black-type winner, 46th graded stakes winner and 15th Grade I winner for the WinStar resident and champion sprinter. Devil By Design produced an Honor Code filly in 2017 and a War Front Colt earlier this term. She was bred back to Curlin.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
