HOT SPRINGS -- Patience paid off Saturday at Oaklawn Park.
Jockey Ramon Vazquez said he settled in aboard Bourne in Nixa, waited for one big run, then rode his colt to victory in the six-horse field at 6-1 in the $125,000 6-furlong Gazebo Stakes before an estimated crowd of 8,500.
Bourne in Nixa won over a sloppy track and through steady rainfall by 1¾ lengths over the 2-5 favorite Mitole, who was burdened throughout by a nearly disastrous stumble out of the gate. Mitole, trained by Steve Asmussen, finished second, a neck in front of Direct Dial in third. Inge finished fourth, 7¼ lengths behind Direct Dial.
"I knew there were horses with a lot of speed, so I was just waiting," Vazquez said.
Bourne in Nixa, a son of More Than Ready trained by Steve Margolis, had raced on one off-track in five previous starts, winning at 6 furlongs over that one at Indiana Grand on Oct. 11.
Margolis shipped Bourne at Nixa on behalf of owners Robert and Lawana Low from his winter base at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans.
"I talked to Robert and we said, 'Let's nominate him and see how this race comes up,' '' Margolis said. "We realized Asmussen certainly had the horse to beat. I really like this colt. His numbers were a little lower than some of these other ones, but he trains good. I knew definitely he would handle the mud, so it worked out good."
As the gates opened, Mitole stumbled to the point his nostrils nearly touched the track. He was able to regain enough momentum to lead through the opening quarter mile in 22.06, a head in front of stablemate Direct Dial, also trained by Asmussen, but jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. said the effort was too much over the rain-soaked, heavy track.
"My horse, it doesn't look like he likes the track much," Santana said. "He tried hard. I hope we get a better track next time. If we do, he's going to be tough."
Direct Dial, ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens, led by a head through the half in 46.22, but Mitole was back in front as they turned into the homestretch.
Stevens said he was impressed by Mitole's recovery at the start.
"He's so athletic," Stevens said. "The jockey and the horse are athletic, because he stumbled really bad, and he was right back up on his feet."
Vazquez watched the duel in front and moved Bourne in Nixa to the center of the track, 4 lengths back at the head of the stretch. By the 1/16th pole, he had pulled even, and Bourne in Nixa's momentum carried him to the win in 1:11.75.
"I just took my horse back and got him to relax and was just waiting for the finish, and he finished strong," Vazquez said. "In the last quarter, when I asked, he just went."
Stevens dropped his whip with an eighth of a mile left and said the miscue might have cost him second.
"My horse was very happy coming into the stretch, and I thought we had a good chance to win," Stevens said. "I knew we had put away the horses that were third and fourth, but when the winner ran by, I knew we were fighting for second."
Mitole was the least experienced of the six colts in the field, but no other performance shone as brightly as his last, the fourth of his career, when he led from the start and romped away from nine others to win a $75,000 6-furlong maiden race by 10 lengths in 1:09.60 on Feb. 3.
Inge brought recent off-track experience to the Gazebo, having finished third in the slop in a 6-furlong optional-claiming race Jan. 27. It was Inge's sixth career race and his first away from the synthetic surface of his trainer Norman McKnight's home track, Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto.
Inge was in fourth as the field turned for home in the Gazebo and seemed in ideal position but failed to respond to jockey David Cohen's request for more.
"David had the horse in real good position, but at the end of the day, they just ran away from him," McKnight said. "It was just a case of his not being good enough."
McKnight said Inge most likely needs more distance. He said he hopes to have him prepared for Woodbine's 1¼-mile Queen's Plate, the track's premier event for 3-year-olds, scheduled for June 30. The Queen's Plate has run each year since 1860 to make it the longest continuously run race in North America.
"When we claimed the horse, we claimed him with the hope to stretch him out," McKnight said. "I think he'll be a different horse when he goes two turns."
Sports on 02/25/2018