A Trio of Results

(Sorry that it took so long to post this – I’ve been very busy this week and it slipped my mind!)

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Last weekend was a very big weekend for a trio of our Veteran Geldings, namely Dubious Miss, Furthest Land, and Garden Dancer. They were entered in a trio of fascinating races in Louisiana, Florida, and Ohio. All were coming off of excellent performances, and I couldn’t wait to see how they did.

Unfortunately, none of them won. As a matter of fact, two of them failed to finish in the top four. But nevertheless, they turned in exciting performances and gave their fans some excitement.

The first of the three geldings to race was Dubious Miss, who was entered in a one-mile and seventy yards allowance optional claiming race at Fair Grounds which drew a stakes-caliber field. Sent off as the third choice, he sat fourth in the early going while Smarten Destiny and Friesan Fire opened up a tremendous lead on the field. They rattled off quick fractions of :23.76 and :46.95, ten lengths ahead of everyone else after a half-mile. They maintained this decisive advantage until the quarter pole, when it rapidly began to dwindle. Dubious Miss, under Corey Lanerie, closed in gamely but was out-kicked by Glenwood Canyon, Fast Alex, and Stay Put. He ended up finishing fifth, beaten only 4 ½ lengths. One must give credit to Friesan Fire, who held on for third despite the fast fractions he ran.

Although the results were somewhat disappointing, I feel that it was really a good effort for Dubious Miss and that he will perform better next time out.

The second gelding to race was Furthest Land. He was the second choice in a one-mile turf allowance race at Gulfstream Park. The task he faced was nearly impossible. He was bumped at the start, and was fourteen lengths off the pace with only a half-mile left to run. He was not much closer passing the quarter pole, still ten lengths off of the lead. And when winner Successful Mission closed his final quarter mile in :24 1/5, there was no way that Furthest Land could possibly get up. Yet he turned in a final quarter mile of about :23 flat and closed strongly to finish just 4 ¼ lengths behind the winner in third. True, it was not a victory, but it does prove that the six-year-old gelding has a tremendous turn of foot. I’m confident that some stakes victories are on the horizon for him.

Finally, there was Garden Dancer, who was running in a six furlong $2,500 claiming race at Beulah Park. He was the favorite, along with his stablemate The Right Face, and had yet to finish worse than second in his three 2011 starts.

But for whatever the reason, he failed to fire. The late-running nine year old rated several lengths off of the early pace, bid for the lead in the homestretch, and tired late to finish sixth. It was an unsatisfactory ending to the trio of races, for I would have liked to see at least one (preferably all!) of the geldings win, but it doesn’t really matter. Win, lose, or draw, they provided some great excitement for fans such as myself. What more can you ask for?

-Keelerman