He was sent off the 16-5 favorite–a mere fraction of the 26-1 about him in last year's race–but the consistent Bucchero (Kantharos) successfully defended his title in Saturday's GII Woodford S. and will get to walk out of the barn and onto the Matt Winn turf course for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, a race in which he was a very close fourth 12 months ago.
Drawn as he was last fall in gate two, Bucchero was ridden for a bit of speed and ultimately settled in a joint fourth as Rocket Heat (Latent Heat) flashed his customary early foot through an opening quarter in :21.80 over turf upgraded to firm over the course of the day, but appearing much softer. Done Deal (Macho Uno) and Extravagant Kid (Kiss the Kid) did the chasing from second and third, but Bucchero's race was won for all intents and purposes at the three-eighths pole, when Fernando de la Cruz angled the flashy chestnut off the rail and into the three path to secure dead aim on Rocket Heat entering the stretch. The latter pressed on as gamely as he could into the final furlong, but Bucchero, who raced on his incorrect lead down the lane as is his custom, took command and pinched a break, then held off a late challenge from Will Call (Country Day) for the victory.
“He's just an iron horse. He's very special to us,” said winning trainer Tim Glyshaw, wearing his good-luck Hoosier crimson. “To have an Indiana-bred come in here for the second year in a row and win on the national stage, that's something we are very proud of. He just became the all-time money-earning [leader] in Indiana history–something that's important to me as well. I just can't thank [owner] Ironhorse [Racing Stable] for allowing me the opportunity to train him.”
Runner-up in the GII Shakertown S. over this course and trip in April and a troubled third to Will Call in the GIII Turf Sprint at Churchill May 4, Bucchero did his connections proud in the G1 King's Stand S. at Royal Ascot, finishing fifth and missing fourth by a zop behind Blue Point (Ire) (Shamardal). Given plenty of time to recover from that journey, Bucchero resumed with a deceptively good fifth behind Pure Sensation (Zensational) in the GIII Turf Monster S. at Park Sept. 3 in which he checked at the half-mile and raced deep on the turn.
Pedigree Notes:
Bucchero, a multiple stakes winner on dirt and stakes placed on synthetics, is one of five winners for his dam, a daughter of Parlay, a Grade II winner on the New York circuit. Bucchero is closely related to World of Trouble, also a son of Kantharos produced by a Valid Expectations half-sister to Bucchero. A yearling full-brother to World of Trouble was sold for $285,000 at Keeneland September. Ironhorse also campaigns Bucchero's 2-year-old full-sister Skyphos and Meetmeontime foaled a colt by Uncaptured earlier this year before being bred to Not This Time.
Saturday, Keeneland
WOODFORD S. PRESENTED BY KEENELAND SELECT-GII, $200,000, Keeneland, 10-6, 3yo/up, 5 1/2fT, 1:04.04, fm.
1–BUCCHERO, 120, h, 6, by Kantharos&log=">Kantharos
1st Dam: Meetmeontime, by General Meeting
2nd Dam: Parlay, by Mt. Livermore
3rd Dam: Sister Aggie, by Great Above
($43,000 2yo '14 OBSOPN). O-Ironhorse Racing Stable LLC;
B-Southern Chase Farm Inc & Karen Dodd (IN); T-Tim
Glyshaw; J-Fernando De La Cruz. $120,000. Lifetime Record:
30-11-6-3, $937,936. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Will Call, 122, c, 4, Country Day–Vote Early, by More Than
Ready. O-Klein Racing; B-Richard & Bert Klein (KY); T-Brad H
Cox. $40,000.
3–Extravagant Kid, 122, g, 5, Kiss the Kid–Pretty Extravagant,
by With Distinction. O-DARRS Inc; B-Vicino Racing Stable (FL);
T-Brendan P Walsh. $20,000.
Margins: HF, HF, NK. Odds: 3.20, 5.90, 5.50.
Also Ran: Angaston, Win Lion Win, Rocket Heat, Undrafted, Vici, Kid Perfect, Done Deal, Machismo. Scratched: Holding Gold.
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.
