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Rebel Yell heard ’round the South<\/B><\/FONT><\/P> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Welcome back to Arkansas, where the weather was absolutely gorgeous for the running of \u201cThe Rebel Yell\u201d<\/B>, a Grade III Stakes race 8.5 furlongs on the dirt for all horses 3 years old.\u00a0 In addition to the fine weather, it was V. Jennings bobble head day, which made for an all out family fun Saturday.\u00a0 And what a treat the fans got today!\u00a0 The track reports that less than a thousand people left before the main event, so obviously most people came out to get a look at some future superstars in \u201cThe Rebel Yell\u201d<\/B>, and I don’t think anyone left disappointed.<\/FONT><\/P> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 From the gate to the wire, this one was an absolute barn burner.\u00a0 The early morning line favorite, Scripture (KY)<\/B>, broke from the gate fast, and headed for the lead, followed closely by Air Force Haack (KY)<\/B>, who settled just off the shoulder of Scripture<\/B>, thus setting up the early duel for the lead.\u00a0 However, there was a second duel setting up just behind them, as A Smarter Strike (KY)<\/B>, Unbridled Holiday (KY)<\/B>, Too Much Tripping (KY)<\/B>, and River Slew Ted (TX)<\/B> started their own duel for 3rd<\/SUP> place, with Afrika Korps (KY)<\/B> and Speightsrican (KY)<\/B> settling in just behind them.\u00a0 All was looking good for Buster’s Upset Special with Unbridled Holiday<\/B> hanging tough with the leaders.\u00a0 The other half of Buster’s pick, Distorted Storm (KY)<\/B>, unfortunately went straight to the rear, and looked pretty comfortable there.\u00a0 Ah, well, can’t win ’em all, I guess.<\/FONT><\/P> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 At the 4 furlong mark, halfway through the race, Air Force Haack<\/B> surges ahead of Scripture<\/B>, taking the lead for the first time.\u00a0 Behind them, A Smarter Strike<\/B> also makes a big move, pulling Afrika Korps<\/B> and Speightsrican<\/B> with him, as Unbridled Holiday<\/B> and Too Much Tripping<\/B> are still hanging tough.\u00a0 By 5 furlongs, Scripture<\/B> has run out of gas and falls rapidly out of the race.\u00a0 Distorted Storm<\/B> also begins a slow move toward the front.\u00a0 By the top of the stretch, A Smarter Strike<\/B> has moved into second, followed closely by Afrika Korps<\/B> and Speightsrican.<\/B>\u00a0 Distorted Storm<\/B> begins really pouring it on here, pushing hard towards the leaders.\u00a0 He passes Speightsrican<\/B> quickly, and, as they near the wire, he takes Afrika Korps<\/B> by a half length.\u00a0 Alas, it proves to be too little, too late, and Air Force Haack<\/B> crosses the finish line in first, followed by A Smarter Strike<\/B> closing in second at 1 and \u00bc lengths, followed by the fastest moving horse at the time, Distorted Storm<\/B>, in 3rd<\/SUP>.\u00a0 For the second race in a row, Distorted Storm<\/B> was charging hard at the finish, and fell just short of winning.\u00a0 Afrika Korps<\/B> took 4th<\/SUP> and Speightsrican<\/B> took 5th<\/SUP>.\u00a0 An absolutely fantastic finish to \u201cThe Rebel Yell\u201d<\/B>, and one that had the fans\u00a0reliving it, stride for stride, as they exited.<\/FONT><\/P> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We’ll take a quick peek back at what Buster said about these horses in the preview:<\/FONT><\/P> Air Force Haack (KY): This homebred colt is making his first step up to Graded races having never finished worse than 5<\/I>th<\/I><\/SUP> in any race ever. He also has a history of following up a bad finish with a win, so look out, Scripture! Although his last race was his best effort ever, it was also his worst finish ever, so he seems more than ready to make a run at the leaders here. Expect Air Force Haack to be one of the early pacesetters.<\/I><\/FONT><\/P> A Smarter Strike (KY): This 3 year old colt’s worst lifetime finish was 4<\/I>th<\/I><\/SUP>, and as a 2 year old, he raced in the Grade II <\/I>\u201cDell Computer Futurity\u201d<\/B><\/I>, finishing 3<\/I>rd<\/I><\/SUP>. Despite, that, his only other start this year was in an allowance race, so he is making a huge jump back to Graded Stakes. However, as I said before, this seems like a great race to do it in. A Smarter Strike has never been tried at this distance before, so hopefully he proves to be equal to the task. When the going gets tough, the tough…well, you know. Look for him to duel for the early lead.<\/I><\/FONT><\/P> Distorted Storm (KY): This colt has finished first an astounding 6 of 7 starts, only failing to win in his last start <\/I>\u201cThe Beau’s Prospect’s Special\u201d<\/B><\/I> at the Open stakes level. Despite finishing second, this was his best time for this distance, unfortunately, it was on an off track. However, this horse knows how to win! It’s very hard to bet against that kind of lifetime record. Look out for this one, folks. Expect to see him stalk the pace, not too close, and be there for the finish. Despite the fact that he has had more sprint wins than routes, he was charging so hard at the end of his last race, I think he just ran out of room!<\/I><\/FONT><\/P> <\/I>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Well, that’s a wrap, folks, join us next week for more thrilling horse racing action at the Black Type Bugler.\u00a0 Unfortunately for Buster, neither of his Upset Specials came through this week, although Distorted Storm (KY)<\/B> came as close as you can.\u00a0 Maybe we’ll call that one a near miss (doesn’t the Swami get near misses? maybe not….).\u00a0 Be safe until next time, and may all your horses find the Winner’s Circle!<\/FONT><\/P> Fantastic Finish In Arkansas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"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-7416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7416","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\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7416\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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