Damon's Mound fights off Nautical Star, takes Gallant Bob
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BENSALEM, Pa. - When Damon’s Mound won the Grade 2 Saratoga Special in August 2022, few would have believed it would take 13 months for him to win another graded stakes.
But in a case of better-late-than-never, Damon’s Mound, sitting a beautiful trip under Junior Alvarado, turned back a challenge from Nautical Star to win Saturday’s Grade 2, $400,000 Gallant Bob Stakes for 3-year-old sprinters by 1 1/4 lengths at Parx Racing.
Nautical Star finished second, 3 1/2 lengths in front of Gordian Knot in third. Ninetyprcentmaddie finished fourth followed by Ryvit, Dreaming of Kona, Depoli, Praetorian and Sir Lancelot. Freedom Road scratched.
The win was the fourth from nine career starts and second straight for Damon’s Mound, a son of Girvin owned by Cliff and Michele Love and trained by Michelle Lovell.
Damon’s Mound was coming off a victory in the Robert Hilton Stakes at Charles Town on Aug. 25. Alvarado rode him for the first time that day and had him dueling for the early lead before he edged clear to win by two lengths.
Alvarado was planning to put Damon’s Mound on the lead Saturday, but Sir Lancelot and Ninetyprcentmaddie outfooted Damon’s Mound for the lead. Alvarado then found himself sitting third by himself while those two ran a contested opening quarter in the slop in 21.68 seconds.
Damon’s Mound moved toward the lead at the three-eighths pole but had Nautical Star, under Irad Ortiz Jr., to his outside. Nautical Star got within a head of Damon’s Mound at the eighth pole, but Damon’s Mound fought him off and edged away.
“I [knew] a horse was putting pressure from the three-eighths pole, I just wanted to keep my horse in front,” Alvarado said. “When we turned for home, I let him float out a little bit so he could feel that other horse and he kept fighting on to the wire.”
Damon’s Mound covered the six furlongs in the slop in 1:10.24 and returned $5.60 as the favorite and was given a 90 Beyer Speed Figure.
Coming to the top of the lane, Ortiz thought Nautical Star had a big chance to run by Damon’s Mound.
“Going to the quarter pole I was moving pretty good, I thought I have horse and I thought I was going to be hard to beat,” Ortiz said. “But that horse kept fighting.”
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