Accelerate overcame a hesitant start and a wide journey to just get up late for his third straight success. Breaking his maiden when stretched to a mile at fourth asking by 8 3/4 lengths at Del Mar July 28, the chestnut defeated Semper Fortis by a half length in the Shared Belief S. there Aug. 26. Bet down to 4-5 favoritism here, Accelerate was off a half-step slowly and got hung three to four wide in the second flight on the clubhouse turn. Continuing as the outside marker on the far bend, the re-opposing Semper Fortis slipped through an opening at the rail and kicked on to lead at the top of the stretch. That one appeared home free well inside the furlong grounds, but Accelerate grinded away tenaciously outside to nail that one late. An inquiry was conducted regarding the winner drifting in a bit and forcing third-place finisher Blackjackcat to alter in, but no change was made.
“[Jockey] Tyler [Baze] said he was a little rough today and that's why he got away bad,” trainer John Sadler said. “We didn't really anticipate being too far off the pace, but [Baze] didn't want to rush him. He was much the best in my opinion. He was really wide and never got a chance to save ground. It was a really game effort. We always thought this horse would improve going long.”
Baze added, “He's a horse who is still learning and has a lot of room for improvement. He has a tendency to lug in, so I was working on keeping him straight.”
Pedigree Notes:
Four-time winner Issues, also already the dam of stakes winners Amarish (Scat Daddy) and Daddy D T (Scat Daddy), has a 2-year-old filly named Darlin'issues (Sky Mesa), a yearling filly by Scat Daddy and produced a colt by Bernardini this year. She was bred back to Bernardini. Her Scat Daddy yearling brought $325,000 from Lothenbach Stables during Book 1 of the KEESEP Sale.
Accelerate's breeder Mike Abraham purchased Issues for just $25,000 while carrying the aforementioned 2014 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf third-place finisher Daddy D T at the 2011 KEENOV sale. Daddy D T is also campaigned by Accelerate's winning owner Hronis Racing and trainer John Sadler. Issues RNA'd for $450,000 at the 2014 FTKNOV sale.
Saturday, Los Alamitos Race Course
LOS ALAMITOS DERBY S.-GII, $201,035, LRC, 9-24, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:48.48, ft.
1–@ACCELERATE, 122, c, 3, by Lookin At Lucky
1st Dam: Issues (SP), by Awesome Again
2nd Dam: Darlin Echo, by Eastern Echo
3rd Dam: Darlin Lindy, by Cox's Ridge
($380,000 Ylg '14 KEESEP). O-Hronis Racing LLC; B-Mike
Abraham (KY); T-John W. Sadler; J-Tyler Baze. $120,000.
Lifetime Record: 6-3-1-1, $236,880. *1/2 to Amarish (Scat
Daddy), SW & GSP, $208,519. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple
Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.[bullet ad=”bluewater-shell-big-fish”][bullet ad=”kbif-g2g3″]2–Semper Fortis, 122, c, 3, Distorted Humor–Rebridled Dreams,
by Unbridled's Song. ($525,000 Ylg '14 KEESEP). O-Reddam
Racing LLC; B-Coffee Pot Stable (KY); T-Doug F. O'Neill.
$40,000.[bullet ad=”beau-lane-sold-by”]3–Blackjackcat, 122, g, 3, Tale of the Cat–Bootleg Annie, by Go
for Gin. O/B-Al & Saundra S. Kirkwood (KY); T-Mark Glatt.
$24,000.
Margins: HD, 1HF, 3HF. Odds: 0.90, 3.20, 2.70.
Also Ran: Mishegas, Curlin Road, Sugar Buzz, Chris and Dave, Arizona Moon.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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