No 'Magic' Needed in Haskell Romp

Good Magic | Sarah K. Andrew

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OCEANPORT, NJ – Stonestreet Stables and e Five Racing's Good Magic (Curlin) entered 2018 as the reigning champion 2-year-old and the de facto leader of the 3-year-old division. While some of that luster wore off as Good Magic chased eventual Triple Crown winner and since-retired Justify (Scat Daddy) home with an admirable runner-up finish in the GI Kentucky Derby and a hard-fought fourth in the GI Preakness S., the chestnut took his first steps towards re-establishing himself at the top of the division with a much-the-best score in the GI Betfair.com Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park Sunday.

“I am so proud of this horse,” said winning trainer Chad Brown. “He put everything together today. He showed his ability, his agility and his class today. It's not easy to win these races.”

Good Magic, carrying Jose Ortiz in the iconic gold and burgundy silks of Stonestreet, broke well and asserted himself three wide into the first turn, establishing an ideal spot tracking the free-wheeling pace of the local longshot Roaming Union (Union Rags) through fractions of :23.15 and :46.83. Asked for more as Bravazo (Awesome Again) approached to his outside, Good Magic responded willingly and seized control from the pacesetter past six furlongs in 1:11.48. Bravazo moved into second as Good Magic cornered for home, but the latter had plenty left in the stretch and bounded home an authoritative winner. Bravazo gave belated chase to finish a clear runner-up and Lone Sailor (Majestic Warrior) rallied mildly to complete the trifecta.

“He broke really well,” said Ortiz. “We got into a good position and he relaxed really well. When I asked him to run I pushed the button and he was there for me. It was a really easy trip. He made it easy for me. When he passed the eighth pole he actually gave me another gear.”

Despite finishing second in his first two starts-including the GI Champagne S. at Belmont–Good Magic fired one giant shot to secure championship honors in 2017, breaking his maiden at third asking in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Del Mar in November. Given a freshening following that effort, he returned with a somewhat dull third-place finish as the heavy favorite in the GII Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Mar. 3. He rebounded with a rallying victory in Keeneland's GII Toyota Blue Grass S.-a performance that set him up for his runner-up finish behind Justify beneath the Twin Spires May 5. The colt went on to the Preakness two weeks later and became embroiled in a pace duel with the eventual Triple Crown winner-a tactic which took its toll on Good Magic, who flattened out late to finish fourth.

Brown was candid in admitting that the Derby and Preakness took their toll on his trainee and said that the brief time off following the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown restored his energy levels and brought him back to top form.

“Winning the Haskell here means a lot,” said Brown, who maintains a string of horses at Monmouth throughout the meet. “To finally win this race is special. I got my start here. I took my trainer's test here the day after the Breeders' Cup in 2007. I came back a year later and had horses here…You have to come with the right horse, and this is a really good horse.”

A Perfect Day on the Jersey Shore

A healthy crowd of 37,186 was in attendance for the yearly centerpiece on the Monmouth Park calendar, and clear skies and moderate temperatures made for an ideal day of racing. As usual, Bruce Springsteen's “Born to Run” serenaded the crowd as the field made its way out on to the track, with various cheers rising from the building during the song's high notes. The crowd roared as Good Magic struck the front and gave the champion another round of applause as he greeted in the winner's circle by Stonestreet's Barbara Banke and members of the Edwards (e Five Racing) family. Family patriarch Bob Edwards, who was born in New Jersey, commented in NBC's pre-race telecast that a Haskell win would be particularly special because Monmouth was one of the first tracks he remembers attending.

Total handle on the Monmouth Park card was $13,395,279, up 5% from the $12,809,110 handled on a similar 14-race card last year.

Pedigree Notes:
Good Magic's dam Glinda the Good–a Stonestreet-bred half-sister to GSW & GISP Take the Ribbon (Chester House), SW & GSP Flash Forward (Curlin) and Flash Mash (Smarty Jones), MSW Bright Magic (Prized) and SW Hot War (In Excess {Ire})–captured two stakes and ran second in the GII Pocahontas S. Second dam Magical Flash (Miswaki) is herself a half-sister to MGISW Magical Maiden (Lord Avie). This is the same female family that produced MGSW and sire Papa Clem (Smart Strike).

The winner has a 2-year-old half-brother named Best Magic (Speightstown), a $200,000 KEESEP yearling turned $700,000 OBS April 2-year-old who was secured by Katsumi Yoshida after working a furlong in :10 flat at the latter sale and sent to Japan. Good Magic also has a yearling half-sister by Super Saver and a weanling half-sister by Pioneerof the Nile.

Sunday, Monmouth Park
BETFAIR.COM HASKELL INVITATIONAL S.-GI, $1,010,000, Monmouth, 7-29, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:50.01, ft.
1–GOOD MAGIC, 118, c, 3, by Curlin">Curlin
                1st Dam: Glinda the Good (MSW & GSP, $226,758),
                                by Hard Spun
                2nd Dam: Magical Flash, by Miswaki
                3rd Dam: Gils Magic, by Magesterial
($1,000,000 Ylg '16 KEESEP). O-e Five Racing Thoroughbreds &
Stonestreet Stables LLC; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings
LLC (KY); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Jose L. Ortiz. $600,000. Lifetime
Record: Ch. 2yo Colt, 8-3-3-1, $2,945,000. Werk Nick Rating:
   B+. Click for eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.[bullet ad=”stonestreet-bredraised”][bullet ad=”hillndale-consigned”][bullet ad=”kbif-g1″]2–Bravazo, 118, c, 3, Awesome Again–Tiz o' Gold, by Cee's
Tizzy. O/B-Calumet Farm (KY); T-D. Wayne Lukas. $200,000.
3–Lone Sailor, 118, c, 3, Majestic Warrior–Ambitious, by Mr.
Greeley. ($120,000 Ylg '16 KEESEP). O-G M B Racing;
B-Alexander – Groves – Matz, LLC. (KY); T-Thomas M. Amoss.
$100,000.[bullet ad=”gainesway-consigned-by”]Margins: 3, 6, 1HF. Odds: 0.50, 5.10, 5.60.
Also Ran: Core Beliefs, Golden Brown, Roaming Union, Navy Commander. Click for the Equineline.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

 

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