Idratherbeblessed ($37.20) leads all the way in Buddy Diliberto
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Idratherbeblessed during his 31-start career has only twice been favored, and those races came the better part of three years ago. In 14 of his outings, Idratherbeblessed has gone off at double-digit win odds. This past March, as an 86-1 shot, he went wire to wire over the Fair Grounds grass course winning the Grade 2 Muniz Memorial. And on Saturday, at a mere 17-1, he led at every call in the $100,000 Buddy Diliberto Memorial Stakes.
On paper, Idratherbeblessed looked like one of three serious pace players in the Diliberto, a 1 1/16-mile turf contest, but when Theismann was scratched Saturday afternoon, and Legalize was taken slightly back to stalk the pacesetter, Idratherbeblessed and jockey Marcelino Pedroza Jr. found themselves on a clear lead, dictating terms.
“We came out of there good. He took the lead, and it’s better to stay out of his way, because he does it all,” said Pedroza, who was riding his third winner Saturday and sixth in two days while taking his first spin aboard Idratherbeblessed.
Idratherbeblessed, who has the staying power to race effectively over long trips, got away with a modest 48.11 half-mile. He took a half-length lead to the stretch call, and while favored Kupuna closed with verve his rally fell three-quarters of a length short of victory. Sand Pipes finished third, Point Proven fourth, and Gigante, the second choice, a soundly defeated fifth. Idratherbeblessed clocked 1:41.50 over a firm course.
Chris Hartman trains Idratherbeblessed ($37.20) for J D Thoroughbreds and Wayne Scherr. Bred in Kentucky by Narola, Idratherbeblessed is by Unified out of Celestial Science, by Tiznow.
Two starts after winning the Muniz, in the May 17 Louisville Stakes at Churchill Downs, Idratherbeblessed suffered an incident of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage so serious that he was pulled up and taken off the course in an equine ambulance. Idratherbeblessed didn’t start again for nearly six months, finishing sixth at 8-1 in his allowance comeback start.
The 5-year-old gelding figured to move forward after that performance while returning to the scene of his Muniz upset. It’s just that the betting public, as usual with this horse, didn’t see it coming.
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