Still Having Fun surged late to spring the upset in Saturday's GII Woody Stephens S. on the GI Belmont S. undercard. The slightest bit hesitant at the break, the 13-1 shot ran in second last early as GII Fountain of Youth S. winner Promises Fulfilled blazed through an opening quarter in :21.46 and a half in :43.68. Starting to pick off a few rivals on the backstretch run, the bay rallied four wide in the lane, sweeping past the rest of the field, and collared Engage in the final strides to score the first graded win for both himself and his trainer Timothy Keefe. Promises Fulfilled won the photo for third over favored World of Trouble (Kantharos).
“This is great,” Keefe said of his first graded win. “I'm just thankful to Gary [Barber] and Adam [Wachtel] for buying into this horse and having the faith to keep him with me, and thank Jim Scott and Terp Racing for over the years supporting me with a lot of horses. We just always hoped he was a nice horse. Jimmy gave me some money to go to Timonium, like he does every year to buy a horse, and I bought this one. Obviously, he's fulfilled a lot of dreams.”
“I had a perfect trip because there was a lot of speed in front of me,” said winning rider Joel Rosario. “He was very comfortable. He was a little far back, but I was just waiting until we were turning for home to set him down and ride him. By the eighth pole, I knew I had it. He has such a big stride.”
Earning his diploma for Terp Racing in a $40,000 maiden claimer at Laurel last November, Still Having Fun was bought into by Gary Barber and Wachtel Stable, finishing a neck second in his first start for the new partnership in the Maryland Juvenile Futurity S. a month later. Kicking off his sophomore season with a pair of wins in the Frank Whiteley S. Jan. 27 and the Miracle Wood S. Feb. 17, he was fourth in the Private Term S. at Laurel Mar. 17 and a non-factor sixth in that venue's Federico Tesio S. Apr. 21. The $12,000 EASOCT buy was last seen finishing second to the highly regarded Mitole (Eskendereya) in a sloppy renewal of Pimlico's Chick Lang S.
Pedigree Notes:
Still Having Fun is the fourth graded winner and eighth black-type winner for his sire Old Fashioned, who currently stands in Korea. The winner is the second foal out of Casual Kiss, who has since produced the unraced 2-year-old colt Stranger Danger (Buffum); a yearling half-brother named Yourbarnormine (Jump Start); and a 2018 half-sister by Golden Lad. This is also the family of GSW Gotaghostofachance and MSW I'mtoogoodtobetrue.
Saturday, Belmont Park
WOODY STEPHENS S. PRESENTED BY MOHEGAN SUN-GII, $400,000, Belmont, 6-9, 3yo, 7f, 1:21.45, ft.
1–STILL HAVING FUN, 121, c, 3, by Old Fashioned
1st Dam: Casual Kiss, by Dehere
2nd Dam: Bushel and a Peck, by Numerous
3rd Dam: Foolish Kisses, by Cannonade
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($12,000 Ylg '16 EASOCT). O-Gary
Barber, Wachtel Stable & Terp Racing LLC; B-Mr. & Mrs.
Charles McGinnes & Tim Keefe (MD); T-Timothy L. Keefe;
J-Joel Rosario. $220,000. Lifetime Record: 8-4-2-0, $431,703.
Werk Nick Rating: C.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.[bullet ad=”maryland-shell”]2–Engage, 123, c, 3, Into Mischief–Nefertiti, by Speightstown.
($200,000 Ylg '16 KEESEP; $550,000 2yo '17 OBSMAR).
O-Woodford Racing, LLC; B-Woods Edge Farm, LLC (KY);
T-Chad C. Brown. $80,000.[bullet ad=”crupi-trained”][bullet ad=”mckathan-brothers-training-grad”][bullet ad=”woodsedgefarm-grad”]3–Promises Fulfilled, 123, c, 3, Shackleford–Marquee Delivery,
by Marquetry. ($37,000 Ylg '16 KEESEP). O-Robert J. Baron;
B-David Jacobs (KY); T-Dale L. Romans. $48,000.[bullet ad=”selectsales-shell”]Margins: 1 1/4, 3 1/4, NK. Odds: 13.00, 4.40, 3.65.
Also Ran: World of Trouble, Beautiful Shot, Givemeaminit, The Tabulator, Strike Power, Pure Shot, Madison's Luna, Aqua Bel Sar. Scratched: Kanthaka. 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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