When we talk about the great horses to ever grace the Sim, the names Enough Knock, Allied Assault, I Seek U\u00a0and Storm Dog\u00a0are normally mentioned along with a few others. Well after Saturday’s running of the 9th Breeders Bowl Turf it’s time to add another name to the list – and this one may top them all. <\/P>
Texasace’s brilliant four year old colt Horseshoe Bay<\/STRONG> decimated all the best turf horses in the Sim for the second year in a row, beneath jockey F. Gosset. Many thought the son of Red Ransom was vulnerable after an explosive record setting performance in the Ark just four weeks earlier. However, Horseshoe as he is affectionately known to his legion of fans, had other ideas.<\/P> Jockey F. Gosset was content to sit back in eleventh early on, as Lex Luthor<\/STRONG> and Director <\/STRONG>ensured a lively pace. “We were far back early, but the pace was quick\u00a0and I always felt I was in control”, a beaming Gosset who also won the Mile and Classic told the media afterwards. After dropping seventeen lengths off the pace after six furlongs, Gosset began to get the big colt in gear and\u00a0they began to pick off horses one by one.<\/P> By this time Lex Luthor had put Director\u00a0away and had opened up a clear lead on the rest of the field. It soon became apparent\u00a0to the crowd that only Horseshoe Bay was gaining any significant ground on the leader. As they hit the top of the stretch Lex Luthor was still seven in front but Horseshoe Bay was in full gear and it was only a question of how soon he’d blow by the valiant but leg weary leader:<\/P> “At the top of the stretch that other colt was still way in front, but Horseshoe had so much momentum I never had any doubt we’d win,”\u00a0 Gosset said.\u00a0 “The only question remaining as far as I was concerned was how far he’d win by”.<\/P> The answer: four lengths. And just like he did in France four weeks earlier, he smashed the stakes record by covering the mile and a half in 2:28-1\/5.\u00a0 “He’s the best. There is no other way of saying it”, his trainer said after the race.<\/P> And who could argue?\u00a0<\/FONT>Horseshoe Bay has now won the three most prestigious turf races in the Sim – The Derby De English, The Ark and The Breeders Bowl Turf (twice)- and he also owns the record in each of these events. Jockey Gosset was also glowing in his praise of this remarkable champion, “He’s the best I’ve ridden. I’m just lucky to have sat on his back”.<\/FONT><\/P> The question everyone now wants answered is “What is next for Horseshoe Bay?” His trainer left no doubt as to what his future plans are. “He will stay in training as a five year old and I want to try him on the dirt in a prestigious Grade 1 race. We would be giving up a lot and obviously it would be difficult, but I think Horseshoe can do it”. And who would be brave enough to bet against this colt.<\/FONT><\/P> Lost amidst the Horseshoe Bay spectacle was the fact that two promising three year old colts ran big races themselves. Cortez<\/STRONG> ran a career best to finish in third, but a lot of praise should go to Lex Luthor who ran a tremendous race to hold second. Gunned straight to the lead by his jockey H. Harzheim, the colt battled for nearly six furlongs with Director on the front end before putting that foe away. He opened up a clear lead in the stretch before succumbing to the winner late. A valiant effort indeed, by a colt who has a bright future.<\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Colt Enters The Pantheon of Greatness<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":436,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/436"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3303\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}