Old Man Buck Wins Grand Canyon, Absolutely Cindy Takes Caressing on 'Stars of Tomorrow II'
by: John Asher
Louisville, KY (November 24, 2007) --
Old Man Buck, ridden by Kent Desormeaux, swept to the lead in the middle of the course and rolled to a 2 ¼-length victory in the $66,000 Grand Canyon Handicap, one of two overnight handicap races for 2-year-olds on the grass as Churchill Downs closed its 21-day Fall Meet with its “Stars of Tomorrow II” program devoted exclusively to races for juveniles.
Coming off a sixth-place finish to unbeaten War Pass in the $2 million Bessemer Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (Grade I), Old Man Buck rallied seven-wide and covered a mile and a sixteenth on “good” turf in 1:45.84 and paid $6.80, $3.80 and $2.60 as the favorite in a field of nine. Why Tonto, ridden by Calvin Borel, closed for second and paid $7 and $4. Seaspeak, the favorite ridden by Rene Douglas, finished third and paid $3.20.
Lawrence Carroll’s son of Hold That Tiger, winner of the Miller Lite Cradle Stakes on turf at River Downs for trainer Ken McPeek, improved his career record to 3-0-2 in seven starts with earnings of $228,312. He has won three of four races on grass.
Old Man Buck rallied from sixth to take command at the top of the stretch and Desormeaux said the winner’s wide journey went according to plan because the inside part of the turf course was more tiring.
“The first three paths are really deep, so I just designed a trip where I could be outside and it worked out great,” Desormeaux said. “I didn’t ask him at all (down the backside). They just came right back to him. He didn’t even have to quicken; they came back to him.”
The field for the Grand Canyon was reduced to eight with the late scratches of Mr. Mischief and Thebob.
Earlier, Absolutely Cindy, ridden by Larry Melancon, swept from last in a field of 11 2-year-old fillies to score a one-length victory in the $66,049 Caressing Handicap at a mile.
The daughter of Arch, a 13-1 longshot, covered a mile over “good” turf in 1:39.96 and paid $29, $11.20 and $4.80. Steady Patter, ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr. and part of a favored entry with fourth-place finisher Grape Cottage, rallied to gain the runner-up spot by a head and paid $4.40 and $2.80. Mine Or Who’s, with Kent Desormeaux up, finished third and paid $4.
Owned, trained and bred by Keith Kinmon, Absolutely Cindy won her second consecutive race after she had opened her career with four straight losses. She notched her first victory on turf, but had finished second in two earlier tries on the grass.
“I came from last, but that’s just how she runs,” said Melancon. “The turf was breaking away a little and I just wanted to keep her in the clear when she made her run. She’s a nice little filly.”
Absolutely Cindy boosted her career record to 2-2-1 in six races and she has now earned $89,094.
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