Quotes from Gilchrist/Baze regarding Indyanne's neck loss @ Saratoga

DiscreetCatDiscreetCat Moderator
edited August 2008 in Horse Racing Forum
from SF Gate;

Indyanne went off as the 2-to-5 favorite in the Victory Ride Stakes in New York for 3-year-old fillies after winning her previous four starts by a combined 32 1/2 lengths. But the speedy front-runner broke last in the field of six before jockey Russell Baze was able to find an opening on the rail and push her to a half-length lead after a quarter-mile.

She maintained that advantage around the turn and opened up a 1 1/2-length lead in the early stretch, but she couldn't hold off a strong charge from 11-to-1 shot Porte Bonheur. Ridden by Ramon Dominguez, Porte Bonheur won by a half-length in 1:09.51 for 6 furlongs and paid $24.60.

"What we lost at the break changed the race around considerably," said Indyanne's trainer, Greg Gilchrist, when reached by phone. "The first fraction was 22.13. ... If she breaks cleanly, she's going in 21.60 by herself. She just took too much out of herself at the start to hold on all the way. That's just horse racing. We've won some at the expense of other people, too."

Indyanne's start took Baze by surprise.

"She was standing good, but when the gate opened, she just didn't fire away from there," he said. "I was perfectly willing to sit behind them, but the horses in front of me drifted way out and let me up in there. So I let her be where she normally is, on the lead. When I asked her at the head of the lane, she responded real well and held off that other horse as long as she could."
Sign In or Register to comment.