By JOHN DaSILVA
June 16, 2008
It was a successful turf debut for favored First Defence as he broke sharply and wired the field to win the Grade 3, $162,966 Jaipur Stakes at six furlongs on the inner turf course rated as yielding. Salute the Count closed well but ran out of ground, finishing a head back in second. Javier Castellano rode the Bobby Frankel trainee to victory, running the six furlongs in 1:09.48.
1ST RACE: Jockey Kent Desormeaux was feeling ill in his return from Kentucky so he was excused from his mounts for the day. Jeffrey Sanchez picked up the mount on Wonforthegoodguys and with the two late scratches of Battle Tank and Rodando, it looked as if Sanchez was in line to get another victory under his belt. Wonforthegoodguys rated off the pace and then started to move up on the rail on the far turn. He did have room on the rail to gain the lead, but then pacesetting Dr Silver Packet moved over and took away the hole. Turning for home, Wonforthegoodguys tried to get outside, but Eibar Coa aboard McCalmont was right along side and maintained their position. Sanchez tried to get Wonforthegoodguys to get by while using a left handed whip. McCalmont then clipped heels with Wonforthegoodguys and lost all momentum. As Wonforthegoodguys gained the lead, he bore into the path of Desert Quest. After a stewards inquiry, Wonforthegoodguys was disqualified from first and placed third behind McCalmont.
4TH RACE: Coa was aboard Baletti and he must have felt like a marked man after getting bothered in a race for the second time on the day. But this time, it was his entrymate Sharif Al Medina that was driving him nuts. In the stretch drive, Sharif Al Medina came over a couple of times before Baletti finally found a clear running lane and burst through to gain the lead and the victory. Certifiably Royal had a great rail trip but, in the stretch, he bore in on his own and hit the rail. Then he was forced into the rail by Just a Warning, who came over on him. They still managed to finish fourth. There was a stewards inquiry into all of the incidents, but no action was taken.
6TH RACE: With Desormeaux out, Rudy Rodriguez picked up the mount on Hedge Fund and the Randi Persaud trainee led every step of the way to win at 12-1. Defrereoftheheart rated off the pace and then made a wide move on the turn to try to reach contention. The loss of ground took its toll and the Kiaran McLaughlin trainee flattened out to be third.
PICK SIX
Winning numbers: 12-7-6-6-6-15
Winners (6 of 6) paid $13,930
Consolation (5 of 6) winners paid $82
No carryover
