Idratherbeblessed ($174.20) edges Gigante, wins Muniz Memorial in stunner
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Idratherbeblessed, at 86-1 the longest shot in a 12-horse field, glided his way to the front under Ben Curtis, set easy fractions and held off a rail-rallying bid from Gigante to stun the Grade 2, $300,000 Muniz Memorial Classic by a neck at Fair Grounds on Saturday.
Gigante, who twice beat Idratherbeblessed in stakes earlier this meet, finished second by a half-length over the late-running Cameo Performance. It was one length back to favored Spirit of St Louis, who, under Tyler Gaffalione, seemed loaded turning for home, but could do no better than fourth.
Higgins Boat was fifth, followed by Redistricting, Rebel Red, Brilliant Berti, What Say Thee, Dancin in Da’nile, Smokey Mandate and Johny’s Fireball.
It was the fifth win, first in a stakes, for Idratherbeblessed, a 5-year-old gelding by Unified owned by JD Thoroughbreds and Wayne Scherr and trained by Chris Hartman. He won his maiden for $30,000 in December 2022.
Curtis had ridden Idratherbeblessed to runner-up finishes to Gigante in the Buddy Diliberto Memorial in December and the off-the-turf Colonel Bradley in January. In his most recent start, Idratherbeblessed finished fourth in the Fair Grounds Stakes, but Curtis said the horse pulled too hard in the early stages of that race.
Saturday, that wasn’t the case.
Breaking from post 11, Idratherbeblessed broke fine and just went forward mostly on his own. Nobody seemed intent on grabbing the lead, so Idratherbeblessed was there by about a length going into the first turn. With Gigante and Higgins Boat racing just behind him, Idratherbeblessed went in fractions of 24.05 seconds for the quarter, 49.53 for the half-mile, 1:14.53 for six furlongs, 1:38.75 for the mile and he covered the 1 1/8 miles over firm turf in 1:50.45.
“He did a little bit too much in the race last [time] and he pulled too hard,” Curtis said in a post-race interview broadcast on the Fair Grounds simulcast. “[Saturday], I was able to get him into a rhythm and do my own thing on the front end. He’s a horse that really sticks his head down and tries _ he has in the past. I think the extra distance today really suited him.”
Idratherbeblessed returned $174.20 and keyed a $1 exacta that returned $958.60.
He was the third front-running winner from the first five turf races on the card.
Hartman, who was at Oaklawn Park, said he was surprised how big a price Idratherbeblessed was, and praised Curtis for the ride he gave the gelding.
“He was walking the dog out there, he got away with a real easy pace,” Hartman said. “Ben Curtis is an exceptional jockey, especially on the grass.”
Hartman said Idratherbeblessed will be sent to Keeneland for the spring. He may look to stretch the horse out even farther in distance in something like the Grade 2, $400,000 Elkhorn Stakes at 1 1/2 miles.
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