08/05/2012 10:03PM

Del Mar: Reddam first-time starter takes Grade 2 Best Pal

By Jay Privman
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Benoit & Associates
Know More, an unraced maiden ridden by Garrett Gomez, captures the Best Pal.

DEL MAR, Calif. – One of the reasons owner Paul Reddam has been such a success in business and in racing is that he will do what appears to be unconventional, but there are sound methods to what appears to be madness.

His derring-do was on display earlier this year, when I’ll Have Another returned from a five-month layoff and won the Robert Lewis Stakes, propelling the colt to a journey that resulted in victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.

And on Sunday at Del Mar, Reddam decided to try an unraced maiden in the Grade 2, $150,000 Best Pal Stakes, an opinion he backed with his own cash, one of the reasons Know More paid just 8-1 after outrunning seven other 2-year-olds to win a graded stakes in his very first start.

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“It’s kind of crazy to run an unraced horse in a Grade 2,” Reddam said, “but we didn’t think the 2-year-olds were out of this world so far, and we got lucky with an outside draw.”

From there, jockey Garrett Gomez kept Know More ($19.20) in the clear, and he rallied from sixth at the top of the stretch to win by a half-length over Heir Kitty, a filly who beat her Peter Miller-trained stablemate, Miss Empire – another filly – by 1 1/4 lengths for second.

Heir of Storm was fourth and was followed, in order, by Scherer Magic, Amarish, Moreno, and K Court.

Scherer Magic, the unbeaten winner of the Hollywood Juvenile Championship, was sent off the even-money favorite, and attracted $115,800 out of $175,959 in the show pool. With him running out, the show prices were inflated, with Know More paying $9.80, Heir Kitty $10.60, and Miss Empire $13.40.

Know More, a colt by Lion Heart, completed 6 1/2 furlongs on Polytrack in 1:16.14.

Like I’ll Have Another – who finished second in last year’s Best Pal -- Know More is trained by Doug O’Neill.

“We’re blessed to have three or four good maidens right now, and we’re trying to keep them separated,” O’Neill said. “We thought he was the best one.”

Reddam acknowledged that he backed his opinion at the windows.

“I did bet,” he said. “That’s what we’re here for. That’s how the racetrack survives.”

 

 

 

Susan Huart More than 1 year ago
Great race! Way to go, ONeill - congrats! Saw those IHA flashbacks from the JD when Know More came up from the outside out of nowhere for that distinct close. Nice work, GoGo!!
Susan Huart More than 1 year ago
Correction: KD, Kentucky Derby
Palm Springs Classic More than 1 year ago
i am sad that i had work to do yesterday since i was also very high on this horse. Doug doesnt usually act like this with a horse so you knew he is a very good one. Why in the world would he want to put Mario on this horse? GoGo is a much better jockey seasoned and if he is in the right mindset as good as any jockey there is. If i owned this horse GoGo would be like glue on him until something happened. Watching this race this horse was very very impressive and very professional and was just getting in gear when the race ended. I look for more big things from this horse. And if you remember Gordon Campbell and BJ Ridder used to enter Modus Vivendi and her sisters in stakes to start their careers and they won. Know More was plenty ready and will only get better and you dont want too easy of a race for a horse this good, he will vastly improve next time. Good work Paul and Doug think outside the box
Frank Altieri More than 1 year ago
This is very unusual and bears watching.
Ange More than 1 year ago
Yep, it's too bad Super Mario has been riding at Northlands in Edmonton this week (he won a stakes on Saturday and goes in 2 more today). But Garrett did a great job. And as odd as it is to run a first time starter in a Stakes, it's not unheard of. And I agree with Chad, stay the H out of NY Doug! Congrats to all :)
Susan Huart More than 1 year ago
So agree. NY put the whole mess out there for distraction and it worked. Where was all the other behind the scenes stories about other trainers like Dutrow?
chad mc rory More than 1 year ago
Oppurtunity given, do they return to NY like, EVER?
Jorge More than 1 year ago
I'd like to see what those criticizing the connections for starting this horse in a stakes race have to say now, specially some "The Baron" user.
JHart More than 1 year ago
I thought about that right when they crossed the finish line Jorge. I doubt "The Baron" shows up on this thread. Proly too busy counting their Seattle Slew winnings still......Riiiiiiiiight. "It's like not running a trial before the Olympics." BWAHAHAHAHA..... The moral of the story here is, although it wasn't a traditional move and one that most (including me) wouldn't have tried, it wasn't unheard of. When a trainer like DO makes a decision like this, there must be a reason. It's not like they entered this colt into the Breeders' Cup Classic first start. They are two year old........IN AUGUST!!!!
Jorge More than 1 year ago
I put $1K WPS and keyed on $100.00 exactas. Hope you won some too.
Elijah Allison More than 1 year ago
i bet you did
miss_lys36 More than 1 year ago
Impressive debut by Know More. This colts pedigree just screams distance. I'll bet you that this colt will absolutely love the dirt once he gets on it!
miss_lys36 More than 1 year ago
And I might as well add that Know More was the only colt in the field that wasn't on Lasix. Kinda says something, doesn't it?
Thomas Cook More than 1 year ago
Okay. Everyone knows I'm not a Doug O'Neil fan but congrats. Not easy to win first time out against winners. Even though he beat a couple of fillies and a $50,000 claimer who won a stakes.. The lasix thing can be viewed as extremely cautious as I'm sure Doug is a little scared of any overages. But either way. Nice win.
John Flynn More than 1 year ago
Where is MARIO??? These People Moved on Fast!!!
Ultimatehorselover More than 1 year ago
No, they didn't move on from Mario. Mario is up in Canada running at some canadian tracks. From what I was reading, he has a seven week contract with Todd/Taylor that he wanted to complete before he went back to California. Mario has said on his Facebook/Twitter account that he will be coming to CA for the Santa Anita meet, then he is there to stay in CA.
Anonymous More than 1 year ago
Reddam/O'Neill will surely use Mario when he's available and when they need him or prefer him on a given mount. But I think Gomez will be O'Neill's #1 for the foreseeable future even once Fall rolls around. He's ridden for O'Neill over the years, everyone knows where he's going to be. His commitments aren't unsettled. 'Love the one you're with' is an old universal axiom for a reason. The fact Gomez was working Know More indicates the sort of commitment you look for between trainer-jock. 'Moved on' may not be wholly accurate but as I can tell you must know, Ultimatehorselover, most stables in this day and age split up mounts and Gomez is going to have his chance to assert himself in the hierarchy. O'Neill's no fool: Mario is a fine jock who is 15 years younger than GoGo. He's not going to cast aside his Derby winner. But 1) Mario has to get settled and focused; 2) Gomez has been showing signs of recapturing his old form- as vets often do- first earlier this year (before getting derailed) and now in taking full advantage of Rosario's New York experiment and threatening Bejarano's grasp of the Del Mar crown. It's a nice dilemma for O'Neil to have. Sure gives him a better tandem than Gutierrez/Daniel Vergara.
Ultimatehorselover More than 1 year ago
I understand what you are saying. But I don't see Gomez being Know Mores "full time" jock, if you know what I mean. I think for the time being he will be (riding him in the Del Mar Futurity, maybe even the Juvenile in November), but once Know More progresses, I think O'Neill will seat Mario with Know More. O'Neill did the same thing with IHA; for IHA's first 2 or 3 races, Javier Castellano worked him and rode him. The when it came time for the bigger stakes races, O'Neill put Mario on. I do agree that Mario needs to settle more; the moving around might be working for him right now, but if he wants to make a mark on the CA racing scene, he needs to stay put. I guess we will see what the future holds...
GARY More than 1 year ago
No chance Gomez rides this horse in the Futurity. I would bet he is going to ride the Sadler maiden from Saturday, Capo Bastone. That horse is seriously good.
Susan Huart More than 1 year ago
Perhaps Mario has been advised to distance himself for awhile due to all the negativity surrounding the rest of the TC team.
Anonymous More than 1 year ago
GARY- No chance? That's a bold statement. Based on their debut races I'd say Know More impressed me more. Capo Bastone's race sure looked more impressive visually but that field wasn't the same quality as the Best Pal (though admittedly that field doesn't appear at this point all that impressive for a Grade 2) : the leaders came back to him after setting insane fracs and the rest were treading water racing for placing. On the other hand Know More had to collar the well closing Heir Kitty and despite lugging greenly his final half furlong was much faster than the Underboss's. I think there is more potential there. It will be interesting to see where Garret lands.
Ultimatehorselover More than 1 year ago
GARY- I think Gomez would be more willing to ride Know More, a colt that he knows and has worked with numerous times. To me, it seems as though Know More was a handful at first, but Gomez worked with him enough in order to settle him down. Why would Gomez go with a maiden who hasn't been raced with other winners? Sadler could always get Talamo or Flores to ride Capo Bastone. I personally think there is more potential with Know More than there is Capo Bastone.
Grass Is Greener More than 1 year ago
They picked Mario Gutierrez because both top riders Joel Rosario and Bejarano deserted I'll Have Another for Creative Cause and Liaison. Unless GoGo jumps ship, there is no way any trainer or owner would yank him for Mario Gutierrez - Mario will need to repeat at least 5 times the year that he's having this year in terms of winnings classic or Breeders' Cup races to be regarded in the same breath as Garrett Gomez as a jockey. For the record, Javier Castellano had never ridden I'll Have Another in a race. I'm not aware that he had ever worked him either. Mario Gutierrez's winning percentage this year is about 11%. He is about an average 3rd stringer at this point in his riding career. In his 15 years riding career in America, Javier Castellano's lowest winning percentage for any year is about 15%. No trainer in America will ever pick Mario over Javier.
Elijah Allison More than 1 year ago
im sure whoever o niel feels compfortable riding his horse is whos gonna ride him, and i guarentee as long as gomez is bring home wins on this horse, he aint going nowhere
chad mc rory More than 1 year ago
Mario just wanted some vacay time out of Cali up in the real North America.
Susan Huart More than 1 year ago
Agree on what it looks like regarding moving on, mostly as a result of Reddam's quick decision to retire(sell) IHA so quickly. That said, I think Mario is being cautious while he decides what to do on a more permanent basis. Mario is a very cool dude, green, maybe. Dumb, no way!
miss_lys36 More than 1 year ago
And yet again, you are spewing BS The Grass Is Greener. Javier DID ride IHA, for his maiden and during the Three Chimneys hopeful stakes. And Mario is not a third stringer jock. You have to keep in mind that the kid is younger than over half of the experienced jocks at Del mar, and he has not settled at all yet. Give him a while, and he will start to rise in the ranks. And no, they picked Mario because A. they liked the way he worked with the horse and B. Mario was willing to take the mount, granted that he worked well with the horse. You know, when Gomez first started out in California, he had a low winning percentage rate. He even struggled sometimes, and look at him now.
Ultimatehorselover More than 1 year ago
Miss_lys36, we are both mistaken. Castellano never rode IHA. I could have sworn that he did, but Joel Rosario/leparoux were IHA's main riders before he was seated with Mario.
JoyJackson21 More than 1 year ago
You are correct, Joel Rosario and Julien Leparoux were the jockeys on I'll Have Another before Mario was placed on him. Joel Rosario was not interested in riding I'll Have Another again, he thought the future was brightest for him on Creative Cause. Mario was given the chance of a lifetime, being at the right place at the right time, to ride I'll Have Another in the Robert Lewis Stakes, I'll Have Another and Mario took to each other, and the rest is history. To those who said that Mr. Reddam and Mr. O'Neill deserted Mario, that was never the case. It was planned all along that Mario would head up to Canada for the remainder of the summer and return to ride for Paul Reddam and Doug O'Neill when they return to Santa Anita. That was announced in a couple of DRF articles early last month. I do agree Mario needs to stay put in California for awhile after he returns from Canada. He feels at home in Canada, but his career will thrive better in the States and he needs to lay down some roots and get a little more seasoning under his belt. He's very talented, but he needs to learn how to work the politics behind the scenes in order to get the mounts on some of the better horses, which will eventually make his winning percentage increase. I'll Have Another was a once in a lifetime shot in the arm for Mario's career, now he needs to capitalize on that good fortune better in order to be fortunate enough to be able to ride other horses the caliber of I'll Have Another and foster the kind of chemistry with other champion horses the way he did with IHA.
Pat Lyons More than 1 year ago
once again im the first to say it ..would you like another ie ill have another ..know more ..#patsRightDontFightIt
Tom Hua More than 1 year ago
Sure, that is how the racetracks survive, someone said. But why loan shark business always thrives? Where is Karma, dear Buddha?