Sunday, August 31, 2008

BUFFALO MAN RALLIES TO WIN RED BANK AT MONMOUTH

OCEANPORT, N.J. * Buffalo Man finished with a flourish at Monmouth Park Saturday as he closed relentlessly to capture the $150,000 Red Bank Stakes (G3) by nearly a length.

In the day’s other feature, the $65,000 Twin Lights Stakes, Julia Tuttle used front-running tactics to score a one-length victory.

Buffalo Man, trained by Cam Gambolati and ridden by Carlos H. Marquez Jr., tracked a very fast pace into the stretch, where he just mowed down the front-runners, stopping the timer in 1:33 flat for the one mile over firm turf. He paid $12, $6.80 and $4.60 across the board and topped the $61.40 exacta.


Icy Atlantic, the 2-1 favorite in the field of seven older horses, proved a head better than Giant Wrecker for the place and paid $3.40 and $2.40. Giant Wrecker returned $2.60 to show.

This was the second stakes victory of the year for Buffalo Man, who races in the colors of Ol Memorial Stable & C.E. Glasscock. The 4-year-old son of El Prado won a stakes on the grass at Belmont in July.

John’s Pic and Fagedaboudit Sal set a torrid early pace of :22 1/5 for the quarter and :45 for the half. John’s Pic continued to lead into the stretch with six furlongs in 1:08 4/5. But the hot fractions took their toll as the closers mounted a charge in the final furlong, with Buffalo Man proving strongest of the come-from-behinders.

“I think we learned a lot about him today,” Gambolati said. “He’s been close up in his most recent races, and he doesn’t necessarily have to be. I think he can step up to the next level after this.”

“The game plan was to save as much ground as possible and wait as long as I could to ask the horse,” said Marquez. “We sat of the early pace and waited. I knew this horse has a good turn of foot, so as soon as we saw daylight in the lane, he turned it on and outkicked everyone.”

In the Twin Lights Stakes, Marion G. Montanari’s Julia Tuttle had a simple formula for victory: Go to the front and improve your position.

Jockey Horacio Karamanos rode the perfect front-running race, allowing the Ferris Allen 3rd-trained filly to set steady fractions over the firm turf. Julia Tuttle held a long lead early, a medium lead turning into the stretch, and then held off a late challenge from One Man to Beat to score by one length. Sales Tax was a length farther behind in third.

Julia Tuttle raced the distance in a quick 1:46 1/5, just missing the track mark of 1:46 flat, and paid $7.60, $4.80 and $3.20 across the board as second choice in the field of seven 3-year-old fillies.

One Man to Beat, the 2-1 favorite, completed the $32.60 exacta and paid $3.80 to place and $2.80 to show. Sales Tax paid $3 to show.

This was the third win of the year * and first stakes victory * for Julia Tuttle, a daughter of Giant’s Causeway. She won twice on the front end at Colonial Downs, and came into the Twin Lights off a third in the Grade 3 Virginia Oaks, when she held a long early lead but tired late.

Today, Julia Tuttle went the quarter in :23 2/5, the half-mile in :46 4/5 and the six furlongs in 1:10 1/5. She reached the eighth pole in 1:34 for the mile and ran steadily to the wire.

“She settled down much better today,” trainer Allen said. “Those fractions were well within her ability. Her last trace (Virginia Oaks) could have been the first time I was 10 lengths in front turning for home and still lost.”

Karamanos, who has ridden the filly four straight times now, said, “I was able to get her to relax a little bit even though we were going fast. She’s the type of filly that will run all day long.”

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