By Jessica Martini
Robert and Lawana Low won a pair of graded Triple Crown preps at Oaklawn Park a year ago with Magnum Moon (Malibu Moon) and the couple's colors were back in the winner's circle in Little Rock Monday with the impressive debut of Intrepid Heart (Tapit). The gray sophomore was tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' after his scintillating 7 3/4-length victory (video) on the GIII Southwest S. undercard.
“It exceeded our expectations to be quite honest,” the Lows' racing manager Jacob West said Tuesday. “We knew he was training well coming into the race. They had split the maiden fields yesterday, so there were nice horses in both groups and we knew that it was going to be a tough test. But even Johnny Velazquez, after he got off of him, came back and said, 'He handled everything professionally and did it all the right way. He did everything I asked him to do and he go the job done for us.'”
Out of Flaming Heart, the youngster is a half-brother to graded stakes winners Commissioner (A.P. Indy) and Laugh Track (Distorted Humor). West purchased Intrepid Heart on behalf of the Lows for $750,000 at last year's OBS April sale where the well-bred May foal worked a furlong in :10 2/5.
“If you go to these sales and you're looking for some of the big, two-turn Classic-type horses, when you see a Tapit coming down the lane who has the pedigree that he has, he is going to pique your interest immediately just off the pedigree page,” West said of his initial impressions of the gray colt. “I remember going back to the barn that afternoon after the breeze show had ended and I had a discussion with [consignor] Niall [Brennan]. I trust Niall a lot and I value his opinion and he basically told me that they were just scratching the surface with this horse.
West continued, “Everybody knew, with his age and his pedigree, life for him was going to start at a later date. He wasn't going to be your early, quick 2-year-old. That's what got me excited. And then physically, he was what we look for in those type of horses. When you put all the pieces together that made up the puzzle that is now Intrepid Heart, early on it was something that got me excited and got my blood pumping. When I called Mr. and Mrs. Low and filled them in on what I'd found and what I had turned the page down on and got excited about, they got excited too and we were lucky enough to get him.”
All of those pieces have come together beautifully in the ensuing months, according to West.
“Physically, he has come a long way,” West said. “He reminded me of a big baby at the 2-year-old sale and when he stepped into the saddling paddock there at Oaklawn, you could tell that he had turned into a man.”
A year ago, Magnum Moon broke his maiden at Gulfstream Park Jan. 13 before being named a 'TDN Rising Star' with an optional-claiming victory at Tampa Bay Downs Feb. 15. From there, he made the jump to the graded stakes ranks where he won the Mar. 17 GII Rebel S. and Apr. 14 GI Arkansas Derby before running 19th in the GI Kentucky Derby.
West admitted Intrepid Heart's debut win made it easy to start thinking of a return trip to Louisville this year, but he expected trainer Todd Pletcher would take a conservative route with the colt.
“We'll leave that up to Todd Pletcher,” West said of Intrepid Heart's next assignment. “We let him make those decisions. Knowing Todd's nature, he is fairly conservative with these types, so he'll end up going to an allowance and then we'll go from there. It's hard not to let a little bit of excitement creep into your body with these types, immediately you just start planning for the future. But Todd Pletcher is the best horse trainer that we've seen, arguably ever, and he can bring you back down to earth real quick. And he can point you in the right direction, so we'll just let him make those decisions.”
The Lows are focused on buying two-turn Saturday afternoon dirt horses, according to West. Another promising sophomore who fits that bill is Federal Case (Gemologist), who West purchased for $650,000 on behalf of the couple at last year's Keeneland November sale. Already a maiden winner at the time, the bay took an optional claimer at Gulfstream Dec. 23. Most recently seventh in the Feb. 2 GII Holy Bull S., he worked four furlongs in :48.97 at Palm Beach Downs Feb. 16.
“He is going to have his second breeze since the Holy Bull this coming weekend and we'll make a game plan after that,” West said.
He continued, “Mr. and Mrs. Low are some of the best owners in the game and they know they want two-turn Saturday dirt horses. We were lucky enough with Magnum Moon last year and now we are hopeful we have more this year.”
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