Race Recap: Sand Castle Classic
In horse racing, things don’t always work out the way you think they will.
And, sometimes, they work out even better than you think they will.
When Supertaffy Racing Stables entered Pretty Fly in the Grade 1 $6,000,000 Sand Castle Classic in Dubai this past weekend, she knew she had a very nice horse who was quick early and who had a real shot at taking down the biggest of the big races in the Dubai desert this weekend.
Even the odds makers thought as much, making Pretty Fly the 5/1 morning line favorite when the raced closed for entries Wednesday.
But Taffy had another horse she inserted in Saturday’s Sand Castle Classic, Settle For Satin, who was untried in grade 1 company. Taffy knew she had a really nice horse in Settle For Satin. But, just before the entries closed on Wednesday, she almost scratched Settle For Satin, fearing her two speedy horses would duel on the lead and kill each other off.
Today, Taffy is really glad she didn’t scratch Settle For Satin this past weekend.
Her lightly raced five year old son of A.P. Indy did indeed duel for the early lead with his stable mate, 5-1 morning line favorite Pretty Fly, before he put his stable mate away in the Dubai rain and staved off a late rally by a hard-charging Skitzoid to take down the Sand Castle Classic–his first grade 1 victory–and possibly launch his own Eclipse Award campaign in 2013.
“I was pretty surprised,” said Taffy. “I had the confidence he was a top quality horse, but I was very worried coming in to the race. He was only rated 13th in the field and one of the few non-grade 1 winners, so I almost scratched him. I also had Pretty Fly in that race, so I was worried about the two of them dueling it out on the lead. But I kept him in because I knew he could get ten furlongs. And I thought, given the off track, the A.P. Indy breeding would lend itself to an off track better.”
Taffy was right. Settle In Satin did get the ten furlongs, and she was also right about her two colts dueling on the lead early. Pretty Fly went right to the front from the rail, where he was quickly joined by stable mate Settle For Satin. The pair dueled through the first five furlongs, setting some fairly fast fractions.
But it turned out Taffy was right about her strong A.P. Indy horse handling the off track better in the Dubai rain.
He looked like a freight train roaring down the stretch en route to his 1 ½ length victory over Skitzoid, and Settle For Satin ran a career high 116 speed figure while doing it.
“When the race started and Settle For Satinhe jumped right out and took the lead, I just thought, ‘Okay, he brought his game face. Let’s see if he can handle the closers.’ About the time Pretty Fly faded, I was sure he had it. He (Settle for Satin) doesn’t need a big lead, but at that point he would rather die then let another horse catch him.”
Taffy knows her 2013 Sand Castle Classic winner well, apparently. He didn’t die, and he also didn’t let another horse catch him on Saturday, despite the late-race heroics from multiple grade 1 winner Skitzoid, who finished second in the Equinics last season before taking down back-to-back scores in the Grade 1 Travelers’ Stakes and the Grade 1 Jockey Guild Gold Cup.
“It was a great first grade 1 victory for him,” said Taffy. “He will be getting around seven weeks off, then a nice, easy race. And then, hopefully, he will show up state-side side for some of the ten-furlong grade 1’s and see how he fares.”
If Saturday’s performance is any indication of things to come for Taffy’s last A.P. Indy-sired horse, this guy could be a beast in 2013–a beast who suddenly found himself on this year’s Eclipse Award radar after Saturday’s big win in Dubai.
“I have big dreams for him. I bred his mom specifically to be a mom,” said Taffy, who deliberately bred his dam to be a female through the game‘s option to determine the sex of its horses before they’re foaled. Goodrich Castle, Settle In Satin’s dam, was stakes-placed in her career, and Taffy thought the Giants Causeway X Mr. Prospector dam might be a great line to work with.
She was right.
Taffy had such high hopes for her 2013 Sand Castle Classic winner when he was foaled that she wanted him to have a special name. “I wanted him to have a rock star name, so he is named after an alkaline trio band album,” said Taffy. “He is my first good A.P. Indy runner and sadly will be my last.”
Settle For Satin cut through the Dubai rain and ran the ten furlongs in a pretty quick time of 2:00.03, despite running on a slightly off track which was rated as good this weekend for the big race in the desert.
He almost broke the magical two-minute mark for the ten furlongs against a field that included no less than 11 grade 1 winners. This was no second-rate field that Taffy’s colt beat this weekend in Dubai. And, with only 16 starts under his belt, it appears this horse just might be the guy to reckon with in 2013.
Skitzoid, who also finished third in the third leg of the Triple Crown in 2012, roared from dead last through much of Saturday’s race to get up for second. Main Runner, who hung tough with the two early pacesetters from Taffy’s stable, held on to be a game third after stalking the leaders from fifth place through much of Saturday’s race. The German-bred runner who is a son of Monsun was only ½ a length behind Skitzoid.
Settle For Satin paid $23.50, $11.70 and $6.70 across the board to those who had faith in him this weekend. And, the 9-11 exacta with Skitzoid paid $250.90. Main Runner completed the 9-11-13 trifecta, an exotic which paid a whopping $3,245.50.