Wild Buck All the Way in the Bird of Prey

The field for the Grade 3 Bird of Prey in Spain was evenly matched group of older fillies and mares, according to the early markets, with all runners being well supported in the betting ring. Tactics were going to prove vital in the final wash-up, although is was hardly tactics which made the difference in the end, with Wild Buck greeting the judge and securing her third career Grade 3 win, while registering her tenth win overall.

Wild Buck won the jump from the inside, but it appeared that several jockeys had designs on controlling the race from the beginning. All five horses drawn closest to the fence jumped smarty with the apparent intentions of trying to lead. However M. Zeus on Wild Buck had no desire to surrender the pacesetting role, which left the riders on Youla, Masai, Bubble Monkey and Star West having to make quick decisions in their attempts to place their mounts into the best positions. Meanwhile, Angel Wings and Apple Carbon were content to angle over to the fence from the outside gates, while favourite My Victoria Manta and Liberalia dropped out early to save themselves for the business end of the feature event.

Settling into place and Youla dropped in behind Wild Buck, Masai was keeping the leader honest while Star West and Bubble Monkey used up energy keeping in touch. Not much change in the order during the run, and those who had supported all but the leader waited patiently for the runs to come. But come they didn’t. Zeus was riding on a masterly race on a trained to the minute filly. Masai kept trying but was losing ground. Youla was the first horse beaten. Star West was refusing to yield, but couldn’t avoid the gap widening, while Angel Wings and Liberalia were coming home, but without enough conviction to excite their backers.

The run home was comfortable for Buck Wild as she cruised home to a clear victory, looking to have more in the tank than the almost three length margin.

Masai had done all the chasing, and was gallant in defeat.

Angel Wings made up a couple of lengths in the straight, beaten three and a quarter.

Star West boxed on to hold fourth.

Liberalia was closing impressively, but the race was all over by then.

Bubble Monkey used up too much fuel early.

Apple Carbon settled back and didn’t get involved

My Victoria Manta was a most disappointing effort for the top fancy

Youla went backwards throughout after her clean jump

Buck Wild is a superbly sourced, scratchbred four year old daughter of Kingmambo / Northern Dancer / Buckpasser. This was her tenth win from twenty five starts and elevates her earnings to above half a million dollars. She ran the 8.5 furlongs in 1.42.8 and returned a speed rating of 99. The win elevates her ranking from # 47 to # 35 in her class.

Lenny11 is a member of the somewhat underappreciated lenny empire. This particular branch boasts the impressive strike rate of 55 wins from 282 races. Buck Wild is the leading light in the stable, while Pop Culture is also a multiple stakes winner for the trainer. Fame and Fortune and Bed Spins have both added six figures to the barn’s bank account. This week lenny11 sent three to the track, Buck Wild, Fame and Fortune and Bed Spins, and they all came home winners.