Sea Devil, trying two turns, noses Raku in Sapling Stakes
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Sea Devil seemed certain to quit in the $100,000 Sapling Stakes on Saturday at Monmouth Park, but with a determined late kick under jockey Jorge Vargas Jr., the New Jersey-bred juvenile managed to repel Raku and hang on by a nose.
“I knew, even when he got through the hole coming out of the turn, that he was not going to open up, because that’s not him,” Vargas said. “He kind of waits for horses. He likes that. But once he got hooked up by [Raku] on the outside, he wanted to fight.”
Coming off a fifth-place finish in the $75,000 Dover at Delaware Park, the Eddie Owens Jr.-trained gelding aced his first test around two turns, dueling for the early lead in the mile race before backing off and re-rallying for a gritty victory. He paid $17 to win.
“The only people who dismiss him as a Jersey-bred are the people looking at the Racing Form,” Owens said. “The horses don’t know where they’re from. I always thought he would go two turns. The dam [Rockin with Lucky] was a big filly who I liked a lot. She just had too many problems.”
Vargas sent the gelding to the front after breaking sharply in his first route attempt, but he had plenty of company in the top flight. The gelding held a short lead on the rail over Rasasi, Hes Steelin Mylady, and Raku through an opening quarter-mile in 23.75, but he backed up to third on the backstretch. Rasasi took over to his outside and completed the half-mile in 47.42, with Hes Steelin Mylady chasing close behind.
“He wasn’t supposed to be on the lead,” Owens said. “He broke so sharp that the jockey just let him run into the bit. By that time the other horses caught up. I got worried because I really didn’t think he had room coming out of the turn when he was turning for home.”
Now in a stalking position, Vargas had no chance of getting to the outside, so he simply waited on the rail, just as he did with Baby Vino in the Grade 1 Haskell earlier this summer. When a gap opened on the far turn, Sea Devil rallied again and took over as the field turned for home.
Though the 7-1 shot managed to momentarily regain the lead, five horses were within three lengths of one another at the top of the stretch, and Raku soon took up the initiative while circling on the outside. Jockey Jose Ferrer had the Kelly Breen-trained colt in ideal striking position and poked a head in front.
“Obviously, I got lucky when the hole opened up for me,” Vargas said. “The key to me was getting him that breather on the backstretch.”
The race would have been fairly straightforward from there if Sea Devil had not dug in along the inside. As soon as his outside rival showed the slightest sign of reluctance to get past, the resurgent front-runner found another gear and ran on to the wire.
Ferrer guided Raku in several paths in an effort to make him aware of his target, but he could not do anything to get around Sea Devil. The gelding drew even again in the final strides and won the bob, completing the mile in 1:38.26.
“He had something in the tank,” Owens said. “I wasn’t worried about that. I was worried about being on the lead early. But he had a nice breather in the backstretch even after those three horses passed him. He was fine then.”
Hes Steelin Mylady maintained his stalking position all the way around the track and held third for trainer Aaron West, finishing two lengths behind Raku.
Owens said he has “learned my lesson” before and does not plan on shipping Sea Devil for another race this year. It might be the gelding’s final race of the season, though the trainer intends to keep his options open close to home.
Best Deal, a 42-1 longshot, stumbled on the backstretch and was pulled up by jockey Francisco Martinez.
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