It’s A Party As Buck’s Party Wires BB Juvy Turf Field
Deyoto Celebrates as Buck’s Party Takes the G1 Breeder’s Bowl Juvenile Turf In Wire-To-Wire Fashion!
“I am a great champion, when I ran the ground shook, the sky opened, & mere mortals parted the way to victory & I met my owner in the winner’s circle where he put a blanket of flowers on my back.”
1st Buck’s Party(eng)
2nd Woette’s Slipper(ky)
3rd Kepler
4th Idol Worship(eng)
5th Washinsky(ire)
Sim fans made The Stardust and Kepler Tokyo the 7-1 co-favorites, followed by Crezzino, Buck’s Party, Woette’s Slipper, and Goldfriars at 9-1. In the paddock, Jeff “Whirlwind”, who was still beaming over the large sum of dinero that he won off of a trifecta in the BB Turf Sprint, called his wife, after looking over the field and gave her his assessment of the horses: “Buck’s Party all the way.”
At the start, Buck’s Party, as expected, went to the front from post 9, but had to work a bit to get there, outrunning Crezzino, who had broken from the far outside, and Kepler Tokyo, who had broken from the 3-spot. High Flyer (GI) runner-up The Stardust was right up there, with Woette’s Slipper in good position in fifth. Manatee Bad Boy tracked him in sixth, with Curious Candy directly outside of Vespucci, Washinsky, and Goldfriars. Strung out behind them were Raging Menace 5 lengths back, Spartiate 6 back, Idol Worship 7 back and lastly Reach The Peak settled in the rear along the rail 8 lengths back in the early going.
Down the backstretch after a quarter in :25.11 and a half in an honest :46.85, Buck’s Party began to open up on the field, with Kepler Tokyo and Woette’s Slipper side by side, 2 lengths off the pace; Washinsky and Idol Worship were moving along 6 and 9 lengths back, respectively. Both G3 winners had a lot of ground to make up on Buck’s Party, who was winging it out there on an uncontested lead. The Stardust had was starting to lug out a bit and had drifted back to 5 ¾ lengths off the pace, struggling to find his best stride.
Approaching the far turn, Buck’s Party led by 2 ½ lengths, with Curious Candy, Manatee Bad Boy, and Vespucci going nowhere. Crezzino was retreating. Reach The Peak, who was coming up to the race in great shape after his fantastic late run in the GI World Cup Juvenile Mile, was back in last and apparently not handling the footing at all. He managed to make slight progress late to finish tenth, 8 ¼ lengths back and ahead of Manatee Bad Boy, Vespucci, The Stardust, and Raging Menace, none of whom ever got hold of the track.
Around the turn, Buck’s Party still held a 2 length advantage on the field. Woette’s Slipper and Kepler Tokyo began their moves together. As fast as Kepler Tokyo was coming along the inside, Woette’s Slipper was always going better, reaching out with those massive strides of his. In the back of the pack two others were making a big run at Buck’s Party, Washinsky and Idol Worship, the latter of whom was moving like a freight train. It was apparent as they closed in on Buck’s Party at the eighth pole that Woette’s Slipper and Idol Worship were by far the strongest of the four challengers. But Buck’s Party was moving so well he already had the race in the bag.
Turning for home, Woette’s Slipper charged past Kepler Tokyo, as Kepler Tokyo’s move stalled abruptly. Woette’s Slipper began to dig into Buck’s Party’s lead, but the leader was holding strong, battling on towards the wire under moderate encouragement from H Harzheim. The race for first and second was over, and it was just a question of whether Kepler Tokyo could hang on for third. Idol Worship, who had been back in eleventh (9 lengths back) at the top of the stretch, came flying late, nearly snatching the show spot in the final few jumps.
“When those horses came at me, Buck’s Party found something extra that we needed to push off and draw away from them,” Harzheim said. “Coming back, he wasn’t stressed at all and was as calm as can be, unlike the normal Buck’s Party that tends to be a huge handful and very difficult to guide.”
Bangs offered no excuses for Kepler Tokyo. “He just got outrun,” he said. “It’s heartbreaking, but he’s one of a kind. He won the World Cup Juvenile Sprint, and it’s been an honor to ride him. He gave me everything he had, but he just couldn’t go with Buck’s Party. That was it.”
Woette1 was happy with Woette’s Slipper’s performance, and with the toughness and durability the colt has shown all year. “We’re real proud of him. Once again, he showed up and gave us his all. I watched these horses in the holding barn and Buck’s Party looked the best, hands down.”
As for Buck’s Party’s future, Deyoto said, “I was so blown away. I would love to run him in the 3yo turf Classics next year…
“I’m on cloud nine, so I’m not sure I’m truly rational right now,” he said. “This was exactly what I’ve been waiting for since PayCheck finished 2nd in last year’s running. I’d sure love to see him turn into the next Lex Luthor.”
Wouldn’t we all love to see another speed demon added to the top turf division… give ol’ Lexie a run for his money for a change! J
The Final Time of 1:43.4 was a full second off the stakes record held by the 2006 winner Mambo Wildcat and comes in as the 7th slowest time out of 8 runnings.