{"id":7291,"date":"2009-02-22T10:57:22","date_gmt":"2009-02-22T10:57:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blacktypebugler.com\/?p=7291"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"oldbtb_2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/?p=7291","title":{"rendered":"Grade II February Stakes Cap’s Big Day in Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/P>

Race ID:3868.5014<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>


<\/SPAN>Grade I The February Stakes <\/SPAN><\/B>
$2,000,000, 4 Year Olds and Up
One Mile (8 F)\u00a0 <\/SPAN>
Track: \u00a0<\/SPAN>Dirt<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>



<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

The local crowd still buzzing from the Grade II Kyoto Stakes, a competitive field lined of fourteen up for the 1st<\/SUP> Edition of the $2M GI The February Stakes over a mile of dirt in Japan.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>With post time favourite WATERGATE SCANDAL(KY) jonsnow<\/I> <\/B>at almost 5-1, it was clear the crowd was having difficulty focusing on one horse to support setting the stage for a big score.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>As expected, Watergate Scandal(KY) broke alertly from the gate to take an early lead for the thirteenth consecutive time in his career employing a \u201ccatch me if you can strategy\u201d in an attempt to wire this field.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Pressing the pace early was SPECIAL HAACK(KY) ottohaack<\/I><\/B> as the majority of the field was content to sit four to six lengths off the contentious pace being cut out by those two.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>At the top of the stretch Watergate Scandal(KY) was full of run and opened up a commanding four length lead and looked safe however both HOOSIER MINER(KY) escena<\/I><\/B> and WOODEN MINISTER(KY) pogs1<\/I><\/B> <\/I>had other ideas as they set themselves down for the drive.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Jockey C. Roser had eventual winner Hoosier Miner(KY) in a perfect striking position throughout having been patient while waiting to pounce at the precise moment.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>That moment came in mid-stretch as he charged hard to pass the tiring leader drawing off to win by a half length.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Perhaps the one moving best at the end was Wooden Minister(KY) who had made up six lengths after encountering traffic trouble at the top of the stretch but still managed to finish second.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>The Grade I Diplomat Way Handicap<\/B> turned out to be a key race last month.\u00a0 The first,\u00a0 <\/SPAN>second and fourth place finishers here today all came out of that event\u00a0where they finished one-two-three.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>On that day, Wooden Minister(KY) got the better of today\u2019s winner here in Japan. \u00a0<\/SPAN><\/I>Watergate Scandal(KY) managed to hold off SAHARA DESERT(AUS) godmother<\/I><\/B> for third.<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

\u00a0<\/FONT><\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

\u00a0<\/FONT><\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

GRADED HANDICAPS<\/SPAN><\/U><\/B>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Hladun said \u2026<\/o:p><\/I><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

PP 10: <\/SPAN>14048\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>HOOSIER MINER(KY) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/SPAN>\u00a0<\/SPAN>escena\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN><\/I>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/SPAN>(9\/1)\u00a0 <\/SPAN>\u00a0\u00a0<\/SPAN>\u00a0\u00a0<\/SPAN>RANK:\u00a0 <\/SPAN>77<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

\u201cThis five year old homebred son of Mineshaft has eight career wins and $1.1M in his bankroll to date and has really stepped it up in his last three events.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>His rating style will be seriously challenged by the \u201ccatch me if you can\u201d tactics of jonsnow\u2019s<\/B> entry so he\u2019ll need to keep that one in his cross hairs throughout.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He comes out of the Grade I Diplomat Way Handicap where he finished a closing second in a smart 108.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>A contender in this spot if ready.\u201d<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/P>

QUESTION<\/SPAN><\/U><\/I>:\u00a0 <\/SPAN><\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/B><\/P>

Can he catch WATERGATE SCANDAL(KY)?\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Magic 8 Ball<\/B> says \u2026 \u201cIt is certain\u201d<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/P>

PP 6:\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>1586\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>WOODEN MINISTER(KY)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>pogs1<\/I>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>(7\/1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>RANK:\u00a0 <\/SPAN>107<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

\u201cThis five year old millionaire son of Hennessy is a high percentage shooter with eight wins in only twenty one career starts.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He comes into this event having won the Grade I Diplomat Way Handicap in his last start covering the one mile distance in a flat 1:34 (111).\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Both he and the second place finisher from that event have made the trip overseas from Kentucky to compete here.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He\u2019s somewhat of an in and outer of late so your guess is as good as mine.\u201d<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/B><\/P>

QUESTION<\/SPAN><\/U><\/I>:\u00a0 <\/SPAN><\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/B><\/P>

Will he bounce off that monster win last time out?\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Magic 8 Ball<\/B> says \u2026 \u201cCannot predict now\u201d<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/B><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

PP 9:\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>81310\u00a0 <\/SPAN>WATERGATE SCANDAL(KY)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>jonsnow<\/I>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>(9\/2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>RANK:\u00a0 <\/SPAN>31<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

\u201cThis five year old son of Empire Maker is a consistent type who has been well placed and very productive now for well over a year.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He has a lot of speed and is difficult to run down if allowed to wander out in front all alone.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Over his last twelve starts he has not been headed at any call to the top of the stretch and has managed to hang on to the wire in four of them and in the money seventy five percent of the time.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>A winner of eleven races and $1.7M to date, he will be tough at this eight furlong distance.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>A dangerous threat to wire this field.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN><\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/B><\/P>

QUESTION<\/SPAN><\/U><\/I>:\u00a0 <\/SPAN><\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/B><\/P>

Will he try to wire this field today?\u00a0\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Magic 8 Ball<\/B> says \u2026 \u201cYou may rely on it\u201d<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

MEDIA QUOTES<\/SPAN><\/U><\/B>:<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/B><\/P>

\u201cWe got a measure of revenge today from the loss in the Diplomat Way so I\u2019m happy for him.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I thought he was best that day too but racing luck wasn\u2019t with him in Kentucky.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>We\u2019ll see how he cools out and decide where we go from here.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>We may stay in Europe for awhile as the cross continental travel can take a huge toll on a horse so we\u2019ll do what\u2019s bets for him\u201d \u2026<\/SPAN><\/I> escena<\/I><\/B> (in the winner\u2019s circle)<\/o:p><\/I><\/SPAN><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/P>

\u201cDid you just see that \u2026 if we don\u2019t hit a wall of traffic at the top of the stretch we win easy!\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He ran great and I\u2019m so proud of him right now.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>He hasn\u2019t been the most consistent of late so this was a really nice performance coming off winning the Diplomat Way last month.\u201d \u2026 pogs1<\/B><\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/P>

\u201cWe weren\u2019t going to change a thing today.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Our best strategy has been to carve out a lead as easily as possible and slow the pace down in an attempt to last to the wire.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Davis\u2019s horse pushed us early which took a bit out of my horse and became apparent in deep stretch \u2026 still I could see the wire coming and hoped for the best.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I\u2019m not disappointed though, he ran a strong race and we\u2019ll be back\u201d\u00a0 <\/SPAN>\u2026<\/SPAN><\/I> G. Arnold <\/I><\/B>(jockey aboard Watergate Scandal(KY))<\/o:p><\/B><\/I><\/SPAN><\/P>

\u00a0<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/B><\/P>

\u201cI was caught up in the traffic jam at the top of the stretch like others and when I finally shook free we just had too much to do to get there in time.\u00a0 <\/SPAN>This horse is improving and will only get better later in the season\u201d \u2026 D. May<\/B> (jockey aboard fourth place finisher Sahara Desert(AUS))<\/o:p><\/SPAN><\/I><\/P>

\u00a0<\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GI Diplomat Way a Key Race for Japanese Excursion<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":211,"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-7291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7291","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\/211"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7291\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}