Disco Time boogies to impressive victory in Dwyer
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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – “Wow!”
That was Florent Geroux’s immediate response shortly after he hopped off Disco Time after that horse dragged him around Aqueduct’s main track to a 9 3/4-length victory in Saturday’s $186,000 Dwyer Stakes. It was the 3-year-old Disco Time’s fifth victory in as many career starts.
Geroux was most impressed to see the final time of 1:33.86 for one mile (107 Beyer Speed Figure).
“Amazing horse,” Geroux said. “Honestly, the sky’s the limit for him. He ran a very fast speed figure last time off the layoff so the connections gave him plenty of time of time recover from that effort. Now, today, he was back with a bang again. Very exciting horse for the future.”
Geroux hopes that future includes the $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 14 at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh. The Saudi Cup is run at 1 1/8 miles around one turn. The Dwyer was a one-turn mile, Disco Time’s second victory in as many starts at that configuration. He is also 2 for 2 at 1 1/16 miles around two turns.
“I hope he can run a mile and an eighth one turn, I think it will be amazing,” Geroux said. “He checked all the boxes for this race and knowing the connections [Juddmonte] they always try to have horses for these kinds of races.
“The point is to step it up against olders and see what he can do,” Geroux added. “The way he was going today and the way he’s been working in the morning I’d be very surprised if he can’t handle the older competition.”
Disco Time had little trouble handling the trio of 3-year-olds he faced in the Dwyer, a race typically run in the spring but moved to this spot on the calendar this year. Geroux had Disco Time perched just outside Tip Tip Thomas, the Grade 3 Indiana Derby winner, stalking him through a half-mile in 44.56 seconds. Disco Time poked his head in front leaving the three-eighths pole and the race was basically over from there.
Disco Time came home 9 3/4 lengths clear of Crudo, who was five lengths clear of Tip Top Thomas who, under John Velazquez, held third by a nose over Stars and Stripes. Dream On and Light Forever were scratched.
“I thought the horse to beat was definitely Tip Top Thomas, so I wanted to make sure I kept a close eye on him,” Geroux said. “Johnny, when he came to the turn, he was already asking his horse for a little bit more and I was just cruising. Felt great, and honestly, super impressive on TV and felt amazing on his back.”
Weigh the Risks wins Pumpkin Pie
Weigh the Risks used the outside post position to her advantage and shrugged off a stubborn foe in Patricia Ann to win Saturday’s $150,000 Pumpkin Pie Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths. It was a half-length back to Scalable in third.
The Pumpkin Pie was postponed from Oct. 31, a card canceled due to inclement weather.
Weigh the Risks, ridden by Manny Franco, broke from the outside in the seven-horse Pumpkin Pie field. Weigh the Risks sat third, outside of Patricia Ann, while Vollyeballprincess, under Dylan Davis, set fractions of 22.51 seconds for the quarter and 45.28 for the half-mile.
Weigh the Risks and Patricia Ann, under Kendrick Carmouche, moved in tandem to overtake Volleyballprincess at the quarter pole. Weigh the Risks and Patricia Ann battled until inside the eighth pole when Weigh the Risks switched to her correct lead and began to edge clear.
Weigh the Risks, a 4-year-old daughter of Mendelssohn owned by Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stables and trained by Chad Brown, covered the seven furlongs in 1:22.22 and returned $4.68 as the favorite.
“I had the outside post, I used that as an advantage,” Franco said. “She was traveling well, taking me there the whole way around. I was loaded. She was hanging on the left lead for a while; as soon as she switched leads she gave me another gear that she has.”
Weigh the Risks won for the fifth time from 12 starts. It was her first stakes victory.
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