The Mike Smith/Bob Baffert show continued on the GI Belmont S. undercard with another very sharp effort from the promising American Anthem.
A narrow first-out maiden winner Dec. 3 at Del Mar, the $435,000 OBS March buy finished a game second to MGISW Gormley (Malibu Moon) when stretched to two turns in the Jan. 7 GIII Sham S. He was very disappointing in his next two runs, however, suffering double-digit defeats in both the GII Rebel S. Mar. 18 and GI Santa Anita Derby Apr. 8. Cutting back to one turn last out, he responded nicely with his first stakes victory in the seven-furlong GIII Laz Barrera S. May 13.
Off as the 9-5 chalk in this first East Coast venture, American Anthem posted up outside in fourth behind splits of :21.79 and :44.81. Looking loaded for bear on the turn, he swept to the front while four-deep under his own power at the top of the lane and wasn't for catching in the stretch. Longshot Giuseppe the Great, a last out maiden winner at the Keeneland spring meeting, completed the exacta.
“The odds are usually against you, but so far we've had good trips and good horses,” Baffert said. “They came in here, prepped well and shipped well. All you can ask for is that they run as well as they ship. There's a lot of pressure on a big day. You don't want to embarrass a good horse on a big day.”
Baffert continued, “Mike Smith has always thought he'd go longer. The way he sat there, and when he pushed the button I thought, 'Wow.' It was pretty impressive.”
Baffert and Smith also teamed up for victories earlier on the card with Abel Tasman (Quality Road) and West Coast (Flatter), and Smith also captured the GI Ogden Phipps S. aboard the mighty Songbird (Medaglia d'Oro). The dynamic duo later added the GI Met Mile with Mor Spirit (Eskendereya).
Smith said of American Anthem, “He ran really well. We kept trying to jump into the Triple Crown thing with him. It might have been a little too much for him at the time. Bob did a great job of assessing that and knowing that and backing way off on him. He started back and got him back running short and we'll go from there; see if we can stretch him out later.
Smith continued, “It's just like the good old days; back in New York and getting the opportunity to ride some great horses today for [trainers] Bob [Baffert] and Jerry [Hollendorfer, with Songbird]. It's just a blast. You point the good ones in the right direction and they get the job done.”
Pedigree Notes:
American Anthem's dam was purchased for $1.1 million as a Keeneland September yearling in 2005 and was a $550,000 pickup for WinStar at the 2008 Keeneland November sale. She is a half-sister to Banshee Breeze (Unbridled), a five-time Grade I victress and 1998 champion 3-year-old filly. She is also kin to Unbridled Wind (Unbridled), the SW second dam of GSW Tiz Windy (Tiznow) and GI Belmont S. third and 'TDN Rising Star' Patch (Union Rags). American Anthem's third dam is a half to French G1SW All At Sea (Riverman) and MGSW Over the Ocean (Super Concorde). Indy's Windy has a juvenile More Than Ready colt, who sold for $80,000 as a Fasig-Tipton October yearling. She foaled a filly by Pioneerof the Nile last term and most recently aborted a Bellamy Road foal. American Anthem's second-crop sire Bodemeister is also responsible for this year's GI Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming.
Saturday, Belmont Park
WOODY STEPHENS S.-GII, $500,000, BEL, 6-10, 3yo, 7f, 1:22.14, ft.
1–AMERICAN ANTHEM, 123, c, 3, by Bodemeister
1st Dam: Indy's Windy, by A.P. Indy
2nd Dam: Banshee Winds, by Known Fact
3rd Dam: Quack a Doodledoo, by Quack
($180,000 Ylg '15 KEESEP; $435,000 2yo '16 OBSMAR).
O-WinStar Farm LLC, China Horse Club International Ltd., SF
Racing LLC et al.; B-WinStar Farm, LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert;
J-Mike E. Smith. $275,000. Lifetime Record: 6-3-1-0, $389,545.
Werk Nick Rating: A++.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.[bullet ad=”winstar-bred”][bullet ad=”winstar-eligible-youre-a-winner”][bullet ad=”selectsales-shell”][bullet ad=”kbif-g2g3″][bullet ad=”hoppel-trainedandsold”]2–Giuseppe the Great, 115, c, 3, Lookin At Lucky–Shawnee
Moon, by Forestry. ($100,000 Ylg '15 FTKOCT; $70,000 RNA
2yo '16 OBSMAR). O-Mossarosa; B-Buck Pond Farm, Inc. (KY);
T-Nicholas P. Zito. $100,000.[bullet ad=”crupi-trained”]3–Recruiting Ready, 121, c, 3, Algorithms–Need, by Strong
Hope. 'TDN Rising Star' ($110,000 Ylg '15 KEESEP; $240,000 RNA 2yo '16
FTFMAR). O-Sagamore Farm; B-Claiborne Farm (KY); T-Horacio
DePaz. $60,000.
Margins: 3 1/4, 2HF, 1. Odds: 1.95, 30.75, 4.90.
Also Ran: Petrov, Long Haul Bay, Gold for the King, Wild Shot, Hard Scramble, Blessed Halo, Classic Rock, The Money Monster. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
