Sunday, March 27, 2011
Longshot Twice The Appeal rallied to win Sunday's $800,000 Sunland Derby (G3) in front of a track-record crowd of 18,571 at Sunland Park.
Under a nicely timed ride by Christian Santiago Reyes, who was riding the Kentucky-bred Successful Appeal colt for the first time, Twice The Appeal covered 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.91, after closing on fractions of :22.61, :45.03, and 1:10.89. Twice The Appeal was sent to post at odds of 25-1, and his winning margin was 1 ½ lengths from 5-2 second choice Astrology.
“I called upon him at the three-eighths pole, and he really responded,” said Santiago Reyes. “He felt very good at the top of the stretch. I could tell he would run big. I even had something left at the end.”
Jeff Bonde saddled Twice The Appeal for owners Edward J. Brown Jr., Victor Flores, and Henry Hernandez. The colt was coming off of a fourth-place finish in the 1 1/16-mile, $50,000 Turf Paradise Derby in Arizona on February 26.
“He was a late-May foal, so it took some time to figure the key to him,” said Bonde, a veteran trainer based in Northern California. “Once we started to route him, he became more professional. He was immature and not a sprint type. We saw the potential in him, and that's why we brought him here.
“He was in some tight quarters in the Turf Paradise Derby,” he added. “That race helped him get conditioning. He acted really sharp since shipping in on Thursday – he's been on his toes.”
Twice The Appeal has won three of 10 races, and the $400,000 winner's share of the Sunland Derby purse increased his earnings to $449,920.
“Our intention is to run him in the Kentucky Derby (on May 7),” said Bonde. “He's very sound, and he's getting right at the right time.”
Runner-up Astrology completed a $137.60 ($1) exacta. The bay colt by A.P. Indy, who races for Stonestreet Stables and George Bolton, was making his first start since November 27, when he ran second as the 7-10 favorite in the $150,000 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs.
Ruler On Ice, It's My Party, Beer Meister, Nacho Saint, Fusa Code, R Skydiver, Supreme Ruler, Behold De Buy, and 2-1 favorite Sinai completed the order of finish.
The Sunland Derby was one of six stakes contested on Sunland Park's 13-race program. A record $2,963,240 was wagered on the all-Thoroughbred card, of which $2,554,663 was bet off track.
Three of the six stakes – the New Mexico Breeders' Oaks (R), New Mexico Breeders' Derby (R), and La Coneja Stakes (R) – were restricted to state-breds. More detailed coverage of these races will be included in the next issue of the New Mexico Horse Breeder magazine.
NEW MEXICO BREEDERS' DERBY (R)
New Mexico-bred 3-year-olds, 1 1/16 miles, $100,000
Winner: Attitude E Racer (g, Desert God-Energywithattitude by High Energy)
Owner: H. Joseph Allen and Michael C. Stinson
Breeder: H. Joseph Allen (NM)
Trainer: Joel Marr
Jockey: Carlos Madeira
Winning Time: 1:46.53
Winning Margin: 2 ¼ lengths
Odds: 24-1
Remaining order of finish: Sapello Cantador, Cake And Candy, Deity, Desert Gulch, Strong Punch, It's Tera (8-5 favorite), Spartan Warrior, Numberoneson, Mostly Dust, Danny's Ghost, and Capitol Guy.
SUNLAND PARK OAKS
3-year-old fillies, 1 1/16 miles, $200,000
Winner: Plum Pretty (f, Medaglia d'Oro-Liszy by A.P. Indy)
Owner: Peachtree Stables
Breeder: Silent Indy Stables LLC and DDS Stables (PA)
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Jockey: Martin Garcia
Winning Time: 1:43.18
Winning Margin: 25 lengths
Odds: 1-20 (favorite)
Remaining order of finish: Paloma Mesa, Formal Plan, Golden Springs, Cassy Sue, and Icelain Diva.
HARRY HENSON HANDICAP
Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds & older, 1 mile, $100,000
Winner: Twelve Twenty Two (6m, Kafwain-Southern Solstice by Southern Halo)
Owner: J. Kirk Robison and Henry Dominguez
Breeder: Jeffrey T. Berk (FL)
Trainer: Henry Dominguez
Jockey: Julien Leparoux
Winning Time: 1:36.49
Winning Margin: 5 ½ lengths
Odds: 5-2
Remaining order of finish: American Story (6-5 favorite), Hayley's Halo, Miss Heather Lee, Twist, Camille C, and Queen Greeley.
LA CONEJA STAKES (R)
New Mexico-bred fillies and mares, 3-year-olds & older, 5 ½ furlongs, $120,000
Winner: Shemoves (6m, Ghostly Moves-Great Aviator by Great Gladiator)
Owner: Charles E. Trimble and Tommy Gunstream
Breeder: Charles E. Trimble (NM)
Trainer: Weston Martin
Jockey: Ramsey Zimmerman
Winning Time: 1:03.67
Winning Margin: 2 lengths
Odds: 12-1
Remaining order of finish: Cali Baby (11-10 favorite), Tricky R., Pocketfullachime, Mylilmemo, Fan's Cat, Happy Me, Ambers Pride, Teras Baby, Glory Be Mine, and Awintersdream.
NEW MEXICO BREEDERS' OAKS (R)
New Mexico-bred 3-year-old fillies, 1 1/16 miles, $100,000
Winner: Iplaytricks (f, Desert God-I Like Tricks by Tricky Fun)
Owner: H. Joseph Allen and Michael C. Stinson
Breeder: H. Joseph Allen (NM)
Trainer: Joel Marr
Jockey: Carlos Madeira
Winning Time: 1:46.87
Winning Margin: 4 ¾ lengths
Odds: 6-1
Remaining order of finish: Ghostly Beach, Tennis Star, Highspeed Rescue (5-2 favorite), Elaine Can Du, Contessa Del Norte, Golden Chain, Colors Of Pompeii, and Go To Gold.
SUNLAND DERBY (G3)
3-year-olds, 1 1/8 miles, $800,000
Winner: Twice The Appeal (c, Successful Appeal-Double Boarded by Cormorant)
Owner: Edward J. Brown Jr., Victor Flores, and Henry Hernandez
Breeder: John T.L. Jones III (KY)
Trainer: Jeff Bonde
Jockey: Christian Santiago Reyes
Winning Time: 1:50.91
Winning Margin: 1 ½ lengths
Odds: 25-1
Remaining order of finish: Astrology, Ruler On Ice, It's My Party, Beer Meister, Nacho Saint, Fusa Code, R Skydiver, Supreme Ruler, Behold de Buy, and Sinai (2-1 favorite).