Sunday, December 5, 2010
JOCKEY GARCIA SWEEPS SUNDAY STAKES WITH
By Jon Forbes
Beau de Beaupre, ridden for the first time by Garcia, pressed Never Right Joey in second as the pacesetter cruised through a half-mile in 49.93. After grabbing a narrow lead at the quarter pole, Beau de Beaupre rebuffed a stern bid by Artie Luvsto Party to win by a hard-fought half-length, with Preachintothedevil finishing an additional 1 ½ lengths behind in third.
“What I wanted to do today was put him in the right position,” said Garcia. “On the turn, I had to ask him a couple of times – he’s still a little green – but he came through. He’ll only get better.”
Beau de Beaupre, a son of Holy Bull, paid $23.00 for a $2 win wager and earned $39,000 to boost his bankroll to $85,090 for owner/breeder Nassau CC Stables and managing partner Luca M. Williams. The final time for one mile, 70 yards was 1:45.33.
Winless in his first four starts, Beau de Beaupre broke his maiden by eighth lengths in his most recent effort when he led a group of New York-bred maidens from gate to wire at Aqueduct on November 17. His record stands at 2-2-1 from 6 starts following today’s race.
“He’s always acted like he could run, but now he seems to be getting stronger,” said winning trainer Jimmy Jerkens. “The horse came out of there running, and I was glad to see the other horse [Never Right Joey] take the lead so he had a target. I told Alan [Garcia] he shies away when a horse comes to his outside, so I said to be ready with his left hand, and he was.”
Sky Music, the 4-5 favorite, finished fourth, ahead of Deciphering Dreams, Ram, and Never Right Joey. Megalithic was scratched.
In the East View for 2-year-old fillies, Garcia and Queen’s Harbor employed front-running tactics to post a 26-1 upset.
Queen’s Harbor quickly cleared on the lead and was unpressured through a half in 48.29 and three-quarters in 1:13.87. She widened her advantage as she entered the stretch and needed only intermittent urging late to score by 4 ½ lengths over 4-5 favorite Miss Valentine, who missed the start and made a belated run to finish second, seven lengths ahead of Saltamontes.
The highest price in the six-horse field, Queen’s Harbor returned $55.00 for a $2 win wager and completed the one-mile, 70-yard distance in 1:44.11.
“This time, I was able to be alone on the lead,” said Garcia. “And, she loved two turns. I told everyone after her last race she would be better around two turns, and she was.”
Rick Violette, who owns and trains Queen’s Harbor, was hopeful the daughter of Mizzen Mast would return to form after finishing sixth in her last two starts, the Maid of the Mist at
“I was disappointed in her race last time,” said Violette. “We hooked Saltamontes pretty hard and we backed up. She’s probably supposed to be better on the turf, but we never had the chance to experiment with her. We might move her over there in the spring.”
Queen’s Harbor, bred by Michael T. Martin, has a record from 2-1-1 from five starts and more than doubled her career earnings to $76,300.
Nicole’s Miss El, Upper East Sider, and Readygetsgold completed the order of finish.
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