He's Comin in Hot delivers as Bashford Manor favorite
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Bret Calhoun and Jamie Theriot know how to win with a fast horse before a big crowd at Churchill Downs.
The trainer-jockey combination prevailed Saturday when He’s Comin in Hot led virtually all the way as an odds-on favorite in the Grade 3, $100,000 Bashford Manor Stakes, the first of four straight stakes on closing night of the Churchill spring meet.
Calhoun and Theriot teamed to win two Breeders’ Cup races here in 2010 – the Filly and Mare Sprint with Dubai Majesty and the BC Turf Sprint with Chamberlain Bridge. This one played out before a festive Downs After Dark crowd, with He’s Comin in Hot pulling away from his only serious challenger, Show Bound, to win the six-furlong race by 3 3/4 lengths.
He’s Comin in Hot, a Texas-bred gelding by Early Flyer, returned $3.60 after finishing in 1:10.90 over a fast track.
“We’ll probably run him back at Saratoga or Prairie Meadows,” said Calhoun. “He’s a nice horse to have around.”
None of the seven Bashford Manor starters had run in anything other than a maiden race, so it was He’s Comin in Hot who was stoutly favored with the two best Beyer Speed Figures (72, 76) in the lineup. Sent to the lead from his rail post, he held a clear lead until Show Bound moved up nearly alongside at the quarter pole, and then easily shook him off without urging from Theriot. Patrick Rocks finished another 3 3/4 lengths back in third.
“He broke sharp and went into a high cruising speed down the backside,” said Theriot, who won six races on a single Churchill card in June 2008. “He’s getting better. I think he’s going to be a nice horse.”
The $2 exacta (1-8) paid $11.40, the $1 trifecta (1-8-2) returned $24.10, and the 10-cent superfecta (1-8-2-4) was worth $16.54.