Bokeelia Island closes powerfully to win Malouff Handicap
Bokeelia Island closed into a hot pace to catch odds-on favorite Pendleton nearing the wire in the $55,000 J.R. Malouff Handicap on Saturday night at The Downs at Albuquerque. Bokeelia Island won by three-quarters of a length over Pendleton, while it was another 3 1/4 lengths back to Oh So Regal in third.
The Malouff was a seven-furlong race for 3-year-olds and up and served as the local prep for the $200,000 Downs at Albuquerque Handicap, a 1 1/8-mile race on Aug. 3.
Bokeelia Island ($12.80) trailed early in the Malouff as Pendleton, who was shooting for his fifth straight win while cutting back from three turns to one, set the pace between rivals. The opening quarter went in 22.62 seconds and the half-mile in 44.71. Pendleton put some separation between himself and the field in the stretch, but Bokeelia Island mounted a strong bid and pushed past the leader late, covering the distance on a fast track in 1:21.57.
“The horse closed really, really fast,” Miguel Perez, who was aboard Bokeelia Island for trainer Justin Evans, said on the simulcast feed Saturday.
Evans also is the trainer of Pendleton.
“They both ran great races,” Evans said, adding that he would have liked to have seen Pendleton off the pace some Saturday.
Evans said Pendleton is a candidate for the Downs at Albuquerque Handicap, while Bokeelia Island might prove best at 6 1/2 to seven furlongs. He added, however, that Bokeelia Island does have pedigree to be effective at longer distances.
Bokeelia Island races for Cindy Evans Perez and Vanessa Evans. He is a son of Medaglia d’Oro and was winning his first stakes in the Malouff. Bokeelia Island is a half-brother to multiple Grade 1 winners Point of Entry and Pine Island and was bred by the Phipps Stable.
Pendleton was coming off a more-than-14-length win in the $75,000 San Juan County Commissioners Handicap, a 1 1/8-mile race run around three turns at SunRay Park. He was the 123-pound highweight in the Malouff. Bokeelia Island toted 119.
