Bold Act bests elders in Sycamore

Bold Act, with help from a bold ride by Jamie Spencer, won the Grade 3, $300,000 Sycamore Stakes on Friday over the Keeneland turf course.

Bold Act shipped from England for Godolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby, as did Spencer, who was flying to New York on Friday evening to ride Eternal Hope for the same connections in the Sands Point Stakes on Saturday. Bold Act, winning his first stakes race, flew home to win the 1 1/2-mile Sycamore, passing pacesetting Cellist in the final half-furlong to post a three quarters-length victory.

Bold Act was only seventh at the quarter pole but ran his final quarter-mile in about 22.70 seconds to get up in time.

:: Bet Keeneland with confidence! Get DRF PPs, Picks and more.

Spencer made some key choices along the way. Bold Act came out of the gate awkwardly and was last, but Spencer rode his mount hard into the first of three turns to get into a decent mid-pack spot. He hugged the fence past the stands for the first time and down the backstretch, and made sure Bold Act had momentum into the final turn, so as not to be caught flat-footed in what would be a sprint home after a slow pace. Bold Act had a clean inside run in upper stretch, passed fading rivals, then sliced between Red Run and Limited Liability and sprinted to victory.

“It’s a gamble,” Spencer said of his inside passage. “You just hope the gaps open.”

Bold Act, a 3-year-old facing elders, got three pounds from Cellist and third place Limited Liability. The favorite, he paid $7.76 to win and was timed in 2:28.08 over a firm course. Second choice Red Knight couldn’t quicken with the top finishers and checked in sixth. Aging star Channel Maker pressed the tepid tempo but faded to finish 11th.

Cellist went to the front under Martin Garcia and backed up the pace, going his first half in 50.39 and three quarters in 1:15.16. Garcia played things properly on a horse who doesn’t have a lot of acceleration, picking up the tempo into the third turn and forcing the closers to rev up earlier than their riders might have preferred. It almost worked, but Cellist simply was beaten by a capable, improving sophomore.

Limited Liability was a neck behind Cellist and ran well in defeat. He broke from post 11, a tough spot with a short run to the first turn, and had to be used while three or four paths wide on that bend to avoid falling too far back. Limited Liability briefly rallied alongside the winner but couldn’t quite match Bold Act’s top gear.

Bold Act now has won half his dozen starts while being brought slowly along by Appleby. A gelding by New Approach out of the Dubawi mare Dancing Sands, Bold Act only made his stakes debut this past summer at Royal Ascot, finishing a solid third in the Group 3 Hampton Court. He held that form his next two starts, winning a listed race in France, and in his most recent outing, in the Prix Turenne at Saint-Cloud, Bold Act got caught behind a wall of horses in the homestretch and never had a chance to run.

Friday, he got through, and Bold Act made the most of Spencer’s good fortune.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.