Gigante wires Caesars Handicap in 33-1 upset
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Gigante, a 33-1 longshot pacesetter, held off the furious charge of 7-5 favorite Wadsworth and won the $150,000 Caesars Handicap for 3-year-olds by a nose on Wednesday at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
A race earlier, Safeen got a great trip under Luis Saez to capture the $150,000 Horseshoe Indianapolis Handicap for 3-year-old fillies.
Both races were contested over one mile on the Horseshoe Indianapolis grass course, which is not for every horse.
Dude N Colorado, favored in the Caesars until the last batch of bets registered, might not have loved the lawn. He tracked the pace from second but came up empty in the stretch run. Not Gigante, who laid down moderate splits of 23.38 seconds and 48.30 under Joseph Ramos while making his first start since Nov. 26. Ramos niftily crossed over from post 9 to set the pace, though Gigante would have been defeated in one more jump.
Wadsworth, making his turf debut for trainer Brad Cox, had shown plenty of positional pace in his three starts this year, but on Wednesday he quickly dropped to the tail of the field under Florent Geroux. Wadsorth revved up at the three-eighths pole and stormed into the homestretch full of run, but Horseshoe Indianapolis has a short straightaway and his rally fell just short.
Trained by Steve Asmussen for Iapetus Racing and Diamond T Racing, Gigante was an easy winner of the Kitten’s Joy Stakes last summer at Colonial Downs but struggled in a pair of Kentucky stakes last fall. Asmussen had him back on his game for his 3-year-old debut, as Gigante, who paid $68, clocked 1:35.81 over firm turf.
Dude N Colorado faded to third, 2 1/4 lengths behind Wadsworth. Gigante carried 123 pounds in a race that was a handicap in name only. He and Dude N Colorado were the only starters carrying 123, the rest of the field was weighted at 119. Gigante is by Not This Time, whose fortunes are rising as a turf sire, out of the Empire Maker mare Summertime Green.
Safeen’s win in the Horseshoe Indianapolis was just the second of her career, following a third-place finish last month in a Keeneland first-level allowance. That race’s second-place finisher, Mrs. Astor, was the 13-10 favorite Wednesday, but she got started too late under Irad Ortiz Jr. to have any chance at winning.
Safeen was positioned two paths wide in the second flight under Saez, who got his mount moving midway around the far turn and came into the homestretch full of run. Pacesetting Work of Fiction had given way in upper stretch but pace-pressing Bling was staying on decently as Mohawk Trail rallied along the inside. But Safeen was going better than both of them and pushed out to a half-length victory.
Trained by Eddie Kenneally for Fergus Galvin and Rebecca Hillen, Safeen is by War Front out of Tafaneen, by Dynaformer. She got the mile in 1:36.92 and paid $10. Mohawk Trail was up for second by a head over Bling. Safeen carried 119 pounds, getting four pounds from Mrs. Astor and Work of Fiction while racing at level weights with the rest of the field.
* Good Forever and Forever Noted won divisions of Indiana-sired stakes on Wednesday. Good Forever ($5.80) captured the $100,000 Sagamore Sired by three-quarters of a length, Marcelino Pedroza riding for trainer Genaro Garcia and Southwest Stables. Good Forever is by Forever d’Oro out of Grandiosa, by El Prado. Forever Noted ($23.20), coming off a maiden win for trainer Robert Gorham and owner Marion Gorham, comfortably won the Swifty Sired, for fillies, under Eddie Perez. Forever Noted is by Forever d’Oro, out of Moro’s Delight, by Moro Oro.
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