Fair Grounds: Gantry relishes switch to turf in Colonel Power Stakes
Until he crossed the path from the Fair Grounds main track, Gantry hadn’t been on a turf course since September 2011, 15 starts ago. The grass must have felt good under his hooves because Gantry came between horses in deep stretch and ran down Marchman to win the $58,800 Colonel Power Stakes on Saturday.
It was Gantry’s first win on turf since he captured a first-level, six-furlong allowance race at Belmont Park almost three years ago.
“He’s got a really good turf number, and his mother was a turf horse,” winning trainer Ron Faucheux said of the switch to grass. “We just haven’t had the opportunity to do it, but we thought this was the right time.”
In fact, there was little reason for Gantry to leave dirt behind. Purchased privately by the Brittlyn Stable of Maurice and Evelyn Benoit in the autumn of 2011, Gantry had compiled a record of 6-6-1 from 14 dirt starts since the early phase of his turf career came to an end. By contrast, that first-level allowance win had been Gantry’s only success from four turf tries, but Gantry’s three defeats on grass had come at longer distances, and this is a horse best at 5 1/2 or six furlongs.
Gantry settled into an inside stalking position Saturday as the favored Sum of the Parts lit out on a hot pace, setting splits of 21.58 and 45.72 seconds while pressed on the outside by Bet Seattle. Marchman made the first move, knifing between horses past the quarter pole to run at and eventually past Sum of the Parts, but Gantry made the last and best move. He picked up his pace at the three-sixteenths pole, collared Marchman inside the last sixteenth, and scored by 1 1/4 lengths.
“I made one run the last quarter,” said winning rider Richard Eramia. “He finished really good.”
Positive Side, a 38-1 longshot, rallied late and wide to nab second, a half-length in front of Marchman. Sum of the Parts faded to fourth.
Gantry, a 6-year-old by Pulpit, paid $8.20 to win and was timed in 1:03.99 for 5 1/2 furlongs on firm turf.
