Cogburn rallies to upset the Troy over a soggy turf course
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Cogburn continued his renaissance as a turf sprinter, running down Nobals in the Grade 3, $300,000 Troy Stakes for his third straight victory. Meanwhile, Saratoga continued its reputation for upsets as the "graveyard of champions," as Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Caravel struggled with a soft turf course and finished fourth as the heavy favorite.
Cogburn ($17), trained by Steve Asmussen for Clark Brewster and William and Corrine Heiligbrodt, made the first eight starts of his career on dirt, with three wins and also a pair of stakes placings last year. Still, Asmussen felt he was not getting to the bottom of the son of Not This Time
"He wasn't running as good as he trained on the dirt," Asmussen said. "He'd run solid, but not quite as special as he seemed training."
Switched to turf at Lone Star Park in Texas this spring, Cogburn won the Chamberlain Bridge Stakes in May and the Grand Prairie Turf Sprint in June. He breezed twice on Saratoga's Oklahoma turf training track in recent weeks in preparation for his graded stakes debut on the lawn, where he would face a solid field.
Nobals, a Grade 2 winner earlier this year, fired away from the gate in the Troy and had established a half-length lead through an opening quarter of 21.92 seconds, a taxing split over the turf course rated soft at post time after rain and storms yesterday that scrapped the final races of the Friday card, and moved most of Saturday's non-stakes turf events to the main track. Remuda, making his stakes debut off an impressive allowance-optional claiming win at Laurel, established a pressing position from his outside post. Meanwhile, Caravel, whose five-race win streak entering the Troy was highlighted by last fall's Turf Sprint and the Grade 1 Jaipur in June at Belmont, was another length and a half back behind those two while saving ground, after she did take a bump at the start.
Around the far turn, Nobals, who got the half in 45.19, began to edge away from Remuda. Meanwhile, regular rider Tyler Gaffalione tipped Caravel out for clear sailing into the lane.
Straightening away into the stretch, E.T. Baird shook Nobals up, and the gelding kicked away to lead by two lengths in upper stretch - and looked like a winner at that point, as Caravel was far outside, and spinning her wheels. But it was Cogburn, who had been a settled fourth under Ricardo Santana, Jr., after the half, who was emerging as the threat.
"Loved the position he was in during the race," Asmussen said. "Ricardo, you could tell how confident he was, that he felt like he was loaded."
Nobals still held a tenacious lead in deep stretch, but Cogburn was wearing him down. Cogburn caught the pacesetter in the shadow of the sixteenth pole, and edged away in the final few strides to win by three-quarters of a length. The final time for the 5 1/2 furlongs was 1:03.70 (100 Beyer Speed Figure).
After Nobals, it was 1 1/2 lengths back to Thin White Duke, who rallied from last on the far turn, in third. He edged Caravel by three-quarters of a length.
"She never traveled like that in her life," trainer Brad Cox said. "It's the turf course, 1,000 percent. Mark it off, we know what we've got. We'll regroup."
After Caravel came Remuda, who was reported to have bled. Mister Mmmmm and Ikigai rounded out the order of finish.
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