Bodexpress gets long sought-after maiden win

MIAMI – There were more than 150,000 folks in attendance under the twin spires when Bodexpress finished 14th (placed 13th) in the Kentucky Derby, and 100,000 or so were on hand to watch him rear up and toss jockey John Velazquez after the start and run loose behind the field two weeks later at Pimlico in the Preakness.

But when Bodexpress finally got his elusive maiden victory Monday, he did so a long way from the spotlight, in front of a handful of his closest friends and maybe a few dozen other spectators on a very warm and humid afternoon at Gulfstream Park West. None of that mattered to trainer Gustavo Delgado, whose first reaction after the race was one of relief as much as anything else.

Bodexpress’s antics in the post parade and at the gate earned him national attention in the spring. But he was a perfect gentleman in the paddock and at the gate Wednesday. Breaking alertly at 1-10 under jockey Emisael Jaramillo, who was aboard him for the first time, Bodexpress got a bit rank while taking command into the first turn before settling in and dominating his three overmatched rivals in the mile and 70-yard maiden race. The final margin of victory was three comfortable lengths with Jaramillo gearing him down some at the end.

“He was very good in the paddock, very good in the gate,” Delgado said as he made his way to the winner’s circle. “The race was perfect, simple and easy.

“He’s a very good horse. His problems have all been in his head. This was the first time he was very good in the gate. The first time in all his races. It took lots of work, work, work [since he returned to training after the Preakness]. Right now, I feel very relieved.”

Jaramillo said Bodexpress was “a little bit aggressive,” but for the most part well behaved before the race.

“Sometimes he’s tricky, but as long as you pay attention to him he’s all right,” said Jaramillo, whose post-race comments were interpreted by Delgado’s son and assistant, Gustavo Jr. “The trainer did a great job, and he’s matured a lot. He was about 70 percent fit for this race. He got tired a little bit at the end because of the layoff, but this will help him mature even more.”

Wednesday’s victory came in the eighth start for Bodexpress and his first in a maiden race since he was beaten a neck by the Grade 2 winner and Breeders’ Cup Sprint-bound Shancelot on Feb. 16 at Gulfstream Park. Six weeks later, Bodexpress finished second behind Maximum Security and nearly four lengths clear of Code of Honor in the Grade 1 Florida Derby, a performance that earned him a spot in the Kentucky Derby.

“Right now, we have no plans for his next start,” the younger Delgado said. “We have a lot of options, and he’s run well against good horses, so we can try anything, although the one thing we don’t want to do right now is get too aggressive with him right away. We already did that before.”

Mozo Bello streaks into feature

Friday’s $39,000 allowance feature lured a well-matched field of 11 Florida-breds competing under entry-level allowance conditions going a mile on the turf. The group is led by Mozo Bello, an easy winner of his last two starts, both coming against conditioned-claiming opposition at Gulfstream Park. Trained by Armando De La Cerda, the 3-year-old Mozo Bello posted a career-best 84 Beyer Speed Figure for his most recent victory, which came under a $30,000 price tag on Sept. 19.

Other key contenders include Notorious Nick, beaten a neck under similar conditions in his last start, and J P Hellish, a recent arrival from Delaware Park who along with Mozo Bello is among the four three-time winners in the lineup.

◗ Working for the first time since his easy victory in the Armed Forces Stakes here Sept. 28, Graceful Kitten breezed four furlongs in 53.78 seconds over the main track at Gulfstream Park with jockey Hector Berrios aboard on Wednesday. Graceful Kitten, undefeated in three starts, actually broke at the five-eighths pole and two-minute-licked for his opening furlong before picking up the pace slightly the remainder of the way.

Graceful Kitten, a son of Kitten’s Joy, is being pointed to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf on Nov. 1 at Santa Anita.