Bodhisattva changes strategies to win Tesio

The last time Trevor McCarthy rode Bodhisattva, he chased Bridgets Big Luvy all the way around the track and had to settle for second best in the Private Terms Stakes at Laurel Park.

On Saturday in the $100,000 Federico Tesio Stakes at Pimlico, McCarthy decided to change tactics and make his rivals pursue him. The strategy worked to perfection as Bodhisattva cleared the expected pacesetter All Hands around the first turn and turned back an extended challenge from Noteworthy Peach to win the Tesio by 1 1/2 lengths.

Noteworthy Peach, who had poked a head in front of Bodhisattva a couple of times from the middle of the turn through the stretch, finished second by 6 3/4 lengths over All Hands. He was followed by Ghost Bay, Slick William, and Top of Mind.

It was the third win from 11 starts for Bodhisattva, a son of Student Council owned and trained by Jose Corrales.

“He was a bit unfortunate last time. The plan was to go the lead, and he broke a bit slow, and then he lugged in pretty hard down the lane,” McCarthy said. “Today, we rushed him away from there, and if [All Hands] wanted the lead, we would sit right off of him. Going out there with slow fractions, we kind of stole the race.”

Bodhisattva, which in Buddhism translates to enlightened body, got away with a half-mile in 49.15 seconds before being confronted by Noteworthy Peach around the turn. Those two ran together until deep stretch before Bodhisattva edged clear.

Bodhisattva covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.18 and returned $10.80

“At the quarter pole, I really gave him that left-handed encouragement, and he really got down and fought, and I hadn’t seen that side of him,” McCarthy said. “He really improved and showed me what he was made of.”

Bodhisattva is nominated to the Triple Crown series, and the Tesio is the local prep for the Preakness Stakes on May 16. Corrales was non-committal on whether he would point to that race.

“Everybody wishes for that, but I want to see how everything goes from here,” he said. “The horse tells me when he’s going to run next. I don’t pick a race in advance until I find out how a horse is coming out of the race and how he is getting ready for the next one. He ran well today.”