A Rare Racing Monday
I have a new crush, and the Derby trail has a new filly. A horse named Evita Argentina made her debut against boys in the San Vicente Stakes. It was a seven furlong race on the synthetic surface. For more than half the race Evita Argentina looked absolutely outclassed. She was no closer than nine lengths off the lead, and there was a big gap between her and the field. Going into the turn she still hadn’t moved. Coming out of the turn she looked like she had been launched out of a cannon. The only gap she could find was on the outside of the field, so that’s where she went. The rest of the field made a standard stretch charge, but they were absolutely no match for the filly. She gained with every stride and was clear by a length at the finish line. It was certainly impressive, and even more so if you consider that jockey Garrett Gomez said that the track conditions stopped her from having her best race. The Fair Grounds Oaks on March 14 is set to be her next race for now, but that is for fillies, and I can’t imagine her not going against the boys again after this eye-opening performance.
While I’m on the topic of the Derby trail, the other big race for this holiday Monday was the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park. The horse that was supposed to win did his job in impressive fashion. His name is Old Fashioned, and he was a 3/5 favorite by post time. He took the lead out of the gate, gave it up soon after in favor of a spot on the rail in second place, held that spot through the turn, then pulled away for a professional win by almost four lengths. If this one can stay healthy and stay on the trail then he will quickly become a sentimental favorite – his trainer Larry Jones is retiring after this year, and people will want him to go out on a high note after what happened to his Eight Belles last year. Jones also conditioned Hard Spun, the hard luck runner who wasn’t quite good enough to get past Curlin, Rags to Riches, and Street Sense in 2007.
The more this class of three year olds run, the more it becomes clear that they have some real talent.
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Tags: Evita Argentina, Old Fashioned
