No Dozing romps in Bold Ruler under aggressive ride from Centeno
Coal Front and Petrov were quickest from the gate in the Grade 3, $200,000 Bold Ruler Handicap at Aqueduct on Friday, but jockey Daniel Centeno wasn't content to sit back. He moved No Dozing up from between horses after a furlong to press Coal Front and they blew the race open by taking command on the far turn.
No Dozing, a 4-year-old Union Rags gelding, went on to take the seven-furlong race by 9 3/4 lengths. The win was his fifth from 16 starts and his first in a graded stakes. He came close to winning the Grade 3 Lexington at Keeneland last year at 3 but ended up third, beaten a neck. His most important victory prior to the Bold Ruler came in the City of Laurel Stakes in Maryland in November 2017.
No Dozing was bred and is owned by Roy and Gretchen Jackson, who race as Lael Stables. He is based at the Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland with Arnaud Delacour.
"I am very happy with his performance," Delacour said by phone from Kentucky, where he will start Chalon in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint on Saturday for the Jacksons. "The problem is sometimes he breaks slow and can get into trouble. Once Centeno moved him up next to Coal Front, I thought the horse looked very happy, on the bridle."
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Delacour said he would nominate No Dozing to the Grade 1 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct on Dec. 1 and see how the race comes up. The Jacksons, Delacour, and Centeno finished second by a head with Divining Rod in the 2016 Cigar Mile after a heated stretch battle with Connect.
The Bold Ruler was Centeno's first graded-stakes win since the Grade 3 Delaware Oaks in 2016 aboard Dark Nile for Delacour.
"I talked to Arnaud this morning," Centeno said. "We thought the speed was inside of me, so our plan was to keep close and not be left back. We broke a little bit slow, but as soon as I got him going and put him in a good spot, he was comfortable all the way."
No Dozing paid $7.40 as the second choice behind 2-1 Coal Front. He was timed over a fast track in 1:23.81 following fractions of 22.14, 44.92, and 1:10.22.
Coal Front, the 122-pound highweight who conceded three pounds to the winner, was making his first start in more than 13 months due to a condylar fracture. He broke alertly but bobbled a few strides from the gate. He recovered to set the pace for a half-mile before being displaced by No Dozing, then tired to finish fifth in the six-horse field, beaten 15 lengths.
True Timber, who lagged back early, finished well to be second, although never a threat to the winner. Delta Prince finished third, 1 1/4 lengths farther back.