Friend Ofthe Devil takes Spectacular Bid in stakes debut
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Friend Ofthe Devil continued his dominance on turf while becoming a stakes winner for the first time after registering an easy and very popular four-length victory over River of Time on Saturday at Aqueduct in the $150,000 Spectacular Bid Division of the New York Stallion Series.
Friend Ofthe Devil had won his two previous starts on turf by a combined 9 3/4 lengths and was making his stakes debut for trainer Carlos Martin in the six-furlong Spectacular Bid. And again, the son of Honest Mischief used his blazing speed to lead his four overmatched rivals on a merry chase.
With regular rider Christopher Elliott aboard sans his five-pound apprentice allowance, Friend Ofthe Devil briefly chased Dancing Bear after the start before wresting control from his uncoupled stablemate about an eighth of a mile into the race. Friend Ofthe Devil set the pace under confident handling, settled into the stretch with a comfortable advantage and gradually increased that advantage when sharply roused through midstretch to the wire.
River of Time, one of only two other winners in the scratch-reduced five-horse field, saved ground and was easily second-best, finishing three lengths in front of I’m Due, while never seriously menacing the winner. Dancing Bear was a tiring fourth, followed by fellow maiden Sunshine Dancer, who raced far back throughout.
Friend Ofthe Devil is trained by Martin for the partnership of Blue Devil Racing Stable and Jerry Zaro. He completed the distance over a firm course in 1:04.71 seconds and paid $2.60.
“What a nice horse, an exciting horse to have in the barn no doubt,” Martin said. “He doesn’t look like he’s going :43 and four, he looks like he’s going 47 and four. He’s just got that natural speed and you don’t want to take that away from him. Chris (Elliott) has fit him so well.”
Martin acknowledged it was jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. who first suggested he try Friend Ofthe Devil on turf.
“It’s funny, Irad said maybe he’ll be a turf horse because he was disappointed after he rode him the second time and I’m glad we got him on turf,” Martin added.
Martin said he would keep his options open for Friend Ofthe Devil, including the Grade 3 Quick Call at Saratoga on July 13 and the Cab Calloway Division of the NYSS at Saratoga going a mile on Aug. 14.
A previous version of this article misstated the name of one of Friend Ofthe Devil's owners. His name is Jerry Zaro, not Jay Zano.
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