One Bad Boy On His Best Behavior in Queen's Plate

One Bad Boy | Michael Burns/WEG

California raider One Bad Boy was anything but in the Queen's Plate, proving an extra quarter-mile was no problem with a front-running score in Woodbine's $1 million Ontario-bred feature. Shipped in early to get a work in over the Woodbine all-weather, the ridgling covered a half-mile in :47 4/5 (13/67) June 22 and was given a 7-2 chance while removing blinkers for this first try beyond a mile. Breaking sharply from post five in this 14-horse affair, the dark bay cruised along under Flavien Prat with ears pricked, setting opening splits of :24.42 and :49.52. Favored Avie's Flatter moved in, turning the pressure up through three-quarters in :49.52.The chalk drew alongside the pacesetter entering the far turn and a brief battle ensued, but One Bad Boy still had something left in the tank and extended clear of his rival in the final sixteenth to score.

“[Avie's Flatter] was next to me, so I knew he was the horse to beat,” said Prat. “By the eighth-pole, I asked him to reengage and he drove away. So from that point, I thought I was going to win.”

“It was awesome, very awesome,” said co-owner Greg Hall. “We were a little worried about his ability to run the mile-and-a-quarter, but you saw that…he started pulling away, so we're very excited about that.”

Third on debut sprinting on the Santa Anita main track Dec. 26, One Bad Boy was second behind an impressive performance from future GI Arkansas Derby hero Omaha Beach (War Front) next out in the slop in Arcadia Feb. 2. Switched to the turf and stretched to a mile there Apr. 6, he wired the field to graduate by 4 1/4 lengths and finished second next out in an off-the-turf renewal of the eight-panel Alcatraz S. on the Golden Gate synthetic May 19.

Pedigree Notes:

One Bad Boy is the 18th black-type winner for his sire Twirling Candy. His half-sister and barnmate Ms Bad Behavior (Blame) is a stakes winner and multiple graded stakes-placed for these same connections. Their multiple stakes-winning dam Cumulonimble is also responsible for the unraced juvenile filly Blessed Truly (Souper Speedy) and a yearling colt by Palace Malice.

 

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