Bravura ideally drawn for Jim's Orbit
The post Bravura drew for Saturday night’s $75,000 Jim’s Orbit division of the Texas Stallion Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park could not have been sweeter. He will break from post 7 in a field the same size, sitting outside of his fellow 3-year-olds under jockey C.J. McMahon.
“It gives us options,” said trainer Bret Calhoun. “It doesn’t force our hands. We’ve got speed. We can be on the pace or off of it. We don’t have to make quick decisions. I think we can sit there and see how the race develops.”
Bravura will be seeking his third consecutive win in the six-furlong Jim’s Orbit.
The race shares a card with the $75,000 Two Altazano division of the Texas Stallion Stakes. The field for that six-furlong race for 3-year-old fillies includes the recent Sam Houston stakes winner Too Much Prada.
Bravura began his streak in December at Delta Downs, where he won an entry-level allowance on the front end. He proceeded to capture the $50,000 Groovy on Jan. 23 at Sam Houston. Bravura dueled and prevailed, holding off a pair of late runners by 1 1/4 lengths at even-money and earning a 68 Beyer Speed Figure.
“I was impressed with his race last time,” Calhoun said. “It was a better race than it looked like on paper. The horse that won the Sugar Bowl [Taylors Angiel] had quite a bit of speed. We couldn’t afford to let him alone too long. We kept our eyes on him around there, and it took a little bit of a toll on us. In the end, we won the race, but it didn’t look as impressive as some thought it should be. We didn’t draw off.”
Bravura, who races for his breeder, Victoria Ashford, got a form boost on Monday when Suddenbreakingnews captured the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park. Bravura had finished a close fourth to Suddenbreakingnews in the $100,000 Clever Trevor in November at Remington Park.
Too Much Prada faces five others in the Two Altazano. She was a wire-to-wire winner of the $50,000 Bara Lass on Jan. 22 at Sam Houston, winning by a neck over Indygo Rocket, who returns Saturday. The start was Too Much Prada’s first since October. Glenn Corbett has the mount for Hall’s Family Trust and trainer Danele Durham.
Cosmo Cassis enters off an 11 1/2-length debut win in a maiden special weight sprint Jan. 23 at Sam Houston.