Bo Cruz relishes cutback, glides to victory in the Commonwealth

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Two starts after a long layoff, the 4-year-old colt Bo Cruz might have found his niche going short – shorter, at least, than two turns. Cut back to his first one-turn contest since his career debut in February 2023, Bo Cruz was a comfortable winner of the Grade 3, $300,000 Commonwealth Stakes on Saturday at Keeneland.

With a perfect pressing trip under Jose Ortiz, Bo Cruz took the measure of overmatched pacesetter Richiesonaroll past the three-furlong marker and held firm through the homestretch winning the Commonwealth, a seven-furlong dirt race, by 2 1/2 lengths.

Bo Cruz ($14.12) showed ability from the start, finishing second two winters ago at Fair Grounds in a six-furlong sprint before crushing a field of route maidens in his second start. He won again in a route allowance at Churchill Downs and was a creditable third behind good horses in the 1 1/8-mile Matt Winn Stakes before a hairline fracture in his pelvis led to a no-show last July in the Iowa Derby. The injury, found on a scan shortly after the Prairie Meadows start, required plenty of rest, Bo Cruz making his comeback Feb. 12 in a Fair Grounds second-level allowance race. Racing over 1 1/16 miles, Bo Cruz hooked two sharp rivals and finished third, a strong enough performance, but one that got trainer Al Stall thinking about what this horse really wanted to do.

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“I’m not some genius about that,” Stall said of the cutback. “He kind of made us feel that way about it his races, his works.”

That feeling was born out Saturday, Stall winning the Commonwealth for the second time in four renewals following Bobby’s Wicked One’s tally in 2019. The Commonwealth lacked real pace, and Bo Cruz, after breaking sharply, took position just behind and outside Richiesonaroll, who strolled through soft fractions of 22.90 and 46.32 seconds.

“He broke very sharp and put me in a great position,” Ortiz said. “I knew I wasn’t going crazy-fast; he was travelling so good. I was just waiting for the right moment to let him go, and when I asked him, he just ran away.”

Bo Cruz, finishing strongly, clocked 1:22.94 over a fast track. Minnesota Ready, trained by Stall’s fellow New Orleanian and childhood buddy, Tom Amoss, stalked outside and finished willingly for second, two lengths clear of the surprising 2-1 favorite Wico.

“I’m very proud of the way my horse ran,” Amoss said. “The pace wasn’t what we hoped it’d be. If I couldn’t win it, I’m glad Al did.”

Call Me Fast finished fourth followed by Raise Cain, Richiesonaroll, and Frat Pack. Manny Wah was an early scratch, while Here Mi Song, the 2023 Commonwealth winner, reared up badly in the gate and subsequently was scratched.

Bo Cruz is by Creative Cause out of Quick Breeze, by Ghostzapper, and now has won three of seven starts for Roger Cettina, Brian Pagano, Patrick Grippo, Peter Martine, and Bruno de Julio. The colt was bred in Kentucky by Douglas Scharbauer and was purchased as a Keeneland September yearling for $55,000.

The $1 million Churchill Downs Stakes on May 4 at Churchill could be next for Bo Cruz – vast riches waiting at the end of a one-turn, seven-furlong race.

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