Gary Broad's Core Beliefs (Quality Road) overcame a difficult trip and outfought favored Lone Sailor (Majestic Warrior) to register his biggest pay day to date in Saturday's $500,000 GIII Ohio Derby in suburban Cleveland. The locally based Trigger Warning (Candy Ride {Arg}) held the lead in upper stretch and held on to be a game third to spice up the exotics at 86-1.
Drawn awkwardly one from the outside in gate 10, the 14-5 third betting favorite broke slightly inward, but avoided contact and settled in the second flight of horses while three or four away from the inside as second choice Flameaway (Scat Daddy) showed the way into the first turn. Four deep turning up the backside and with some cover on the back of Trigger Warning, Core Beliefs was eased out into the clear nearing the half-mile marker, while Lone Sailor, a latest close fifth in the GI Preakness S., simultaneously went for a two-path run to be perfectly positioned just behind the leading group. Despite sitting a tough trip himself, Trigger Warning poked a head in front of Flameaway in upper stretch, but Core Beliefs was winding up with a sustained run and wrested command at the eighth pole. Lone Sailor threaded the needle to split Trigger Warning and the tiring Flameaway inside the final furlong, but Core Beliefs managed to find that little bit extra to hit the wire narrowly first.
“We had a pretty good trip,” said winning jockey Joe Talamo. “Three or four horses went to the lead, so I tried to tuck in as much as I could and let him do the work all the way around. Around the turn I got his momentum going, and he was all heart down the lane. There were a couple coming at him. He was giving me everything he had.”
Third in a pair of six-furlong maidens to kick off his career, Core Beliefs stretched out successfully to two turns to graduate by 3 1/4 front-running lengths with Mike Smith calling the shots at Santa Anita Mar. 8. Well held, but nevertheless third to Justify (Scat Daddy) and Bolt d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro) in the GI Santa Anita Derby, the bay raced handy to the pace as the 2-1 favorite in Belmont's GIII Peter Pan S. May 12, but could not resist a late run from Blended Citizen (Proud Citizen) and settled for the runner-up spot.
Pedigree Notes:
A $45,000 Fasig-Tipton October yearling purchase, Core Beliefs breezed an eighth of a mile in :10 flat over the Del Mar main track and was purchased by Gary Broad for $350,000 at last year's Barretts March Sale. The 28th black-type and 19th graded winner for the white-hot Quality Road, Core Beliefs is out of a half-sister to the dam of MSW & GSP Sloane Ranger while the deeper female family includes Pin Oak's Sovereign Award winner Hasten To Add (Cozzene) and his Grade I-winning half-sister See How She Runs (Maria's Mon), dam of GSW Don't Leave Me (Lemon Drop Kid). Core Belief is his dam's most recent produce.
Saturday, Thistledown
OHIO DERBY-GIII, $500,000, Thistledown, 6-23, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:51.08, ft.
1–CORE BELIEFS, 120, c, 3, by Quality Road
1st Dam: Tejati, by Tactical Advantage
2nd Dam: It's a Cat, by Believe It
3rd Dam: Beau Cougar, by Cougar II
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($45,000 Ylg '16 FTKOCT; $350,000 2yo '17 BARMAR). O-Gary Broad; B-Thomas J. Young (KY); T-Peter Eurton; J-Joseph Talamo. $300,000. Lifetime Record: 6-2-1-3, $535,360. Werk Nick Rating: D+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.[bullet ad=”pinhooked-by-wright-casse-investments”][bullet ad=”broke-trained-at-exclusive-equine-jim-torie-gladwell”]2–Lone Sailor, 120, 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”]3–Trigger Warning, 120, c, 3, Candy Ride (Arg)–Magic Appeal, by Successful Appeal. ($6,000 Ylg '16 KEESEP). O-Brinley Enterprises LLC; B-WinStar Farm, LLC (KY); T-Mike L. Rone. $50,000.[bullet ad=”winstar-bred”]Margins: NO, 1, HF. Odds: 2.80, 1.50, 86.20.
Also Ran: Title Ready, Diamond King, Flameaway, Caloric, Takedown, Machismo, Dream Baby Dream, O'Kratos. Scratched: Last Drop of Wine.
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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