St. Borealis overcomes post 14 to take Tiara
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Mike Maker and owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey continued their dominance of the Claiming Crown, sending out St. Borealis to a 1 3/4-length victory over Rock On Baby in Saturday’s $125,000 Tiara at Gulfstream Park.
Despite breaking from post 14, St. Borealis rallied steadily from outside, gained command near midstretch, and then withstood a final surge from Rock On Baby. Wild Swava, who is also trained by Maker, finished third as the 2-1 favorite in the 1 1/16-mile turf race. The winning time was 1:43.80.
Rock On Baby was making her first start since finishing second behind the Maker-trained and Ramsey-owned Deanaallen’skitten in the 2013 Tiara.
St. Borealis, a 4-year-old daughter of War Chant, was haltered for $16,000 out of a winning effort at Ellis Park in August and returned quick dividends beating $40,000 claiming opposition two months later at Churchill Downs. The Tiara was the 13th win in Claiming Crown history for both Maker and the Ramseys.
St. Borealis ($29.80) was ridden to victory Rafael Hernandez, who plans to ride here regularly throughout the 2014-15 meet.
“I don’t think I can say what I was thinking when we drew post 14 but it’s been our lucky number today,” said Maker , who sent out Smokem Kitten to win her debut for the Ramsey’s from post 14 earlier on the card. “Rafael rode a great race. He took her back, saved all the ground, and she finished strong. It might be the right way to ride her. This has always been a great event, there’s a great crowd here today, and it’s fun just to be a part of it.”