Stradale shows he's at home on dirt with Gallant Bob triumph
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BENSALEM, Pa. - Though Stradale won a stakes race on turf last time out, his connections believe the 3-year-old is a better horse on dirt. On Saturday, at Parx Racing, Stradale did little to dissuade that belief as Stradale came with a solid run from off the pace to win the Grade 2, $400,000 Gallant Bob Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths.
Dr. Kapur, far back early on, rallied to get second by 1 3/4 lengths over Southern California invader Captivator.
Stradale entered the Gallant Bob off a neck victory in the Grade 3 Mahony Stakes, a 5 1/2-furlong turf race at Saratoga. The switch to turf - he also finished fourth in the Quick Call Stakes in July - was done, at least in part, to avoid facing the sensational 3-year-old sprinter Englishman in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens on dirt at Saratoga.
“I guess that seemed like the most logical reason,” said Scott Blasi, the assistant to trainer Steve Asmussen. “We’re always happy to win a race at Saratoga, it’s the most competitive racing in our business. We got to win a race there and move on to this one.”
On Saturday, Stradale benefitted from a heady ride by Jose Ortiz. Though Stradale broke running, Ortiz took the horse off the pace to avoid a speed duel that saw Tallmar, Mailata and My Boy Star duke it out through a quarter in 21.78 seconds and a half-mile in 44.46.
Stradale was in between horses in the second flight and Ortiz was content to let Captivator make the first move around the far turn. Ortiz followed that one, tipped out five wide for the stretch and came home a handy winner despite drifting out some in the lane.
“He broke very well, I was able to lay in a good spot behind the speed and when I asked him, he was there for me and he responded very well,” Ortiz said. “He’s proven before that he can run on the dirt and can handle it, so we’re very happy with him today.”
Stradale, a son of Yaupon owned by Kaleem Shah, covered the six furlongs in 1:09.83 and returned $5.20 as the favorite.
“We loved his last race on the grass, I love how versatile the Yaupons are, but we did think he’s better on the dirt after watching his race in Saratoga,” Blasi said.
Stradale could be a candidate for the Grade 3, $350,000 Perryville Stakes at Keeneland on Oct. 17.
If he does run there, he will likely again face Dr. Kapur, who came with a strong rally under Tyler Gaffalione to finish second after dropping well out of it early on.
“Since we routed him and then cut him back, in all three sprint races he’s run like a router,” trainer Saffie Joseph said. “He ran well nonetheless. Would we like to win? A hundred percent. Obviously, the winner won so he’s the best but I feel like we had the best horse, even in this race. This will set him up for Keeneland.”
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