I Want Revenge Romps in Gotham Stakes

by Patricia Woo | Mar 9 2009

As Horse of the Year Curlin could attest – after switching to turf from dirt and finishing second in the Man o' War Stakes  and then trying out synthetic Pro-Ride on Breeders' Cup day and finishing fourth – competing on a different track surface can be a racehorse's downfall. But on Saturday, Mar. 7, 3-year-old Kentucky Derby contender I Want Revenge took on a conventional dirt track for the first time in the $250,000 Gr. 3 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct in Queens, N.Y., and exceeded all expectations with a commanding victory.

I Want Revenge has been flirting with brilliance since December 2008 when he was the runner-up in the $750,000 Gr. 1 CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park. He then opened his 2009 campaign with a third-place finish in the $200,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita Park on Feb. 7, behind highly regarded Derby contender Pioneerof the Nile. Both of these races were run on synthetic tracks; the Kentucky Derby will be held on a dirt track. And unlike Pioneerof the Nile, who will likely continue to race on Pro-Ride until the Kentucky Derby, I Want Revenge's connections decided to try this son of Stephen Got Even on dirt… with spectacular results.

Under regular rider Joe Talamo, the Jeff Mullins-trained I Want Revenge battled with race favorite Mr. Fantasy at the top of the stretch before pulling away impressively to win by 8 1/2 lengths. He also set a stakes record at the 1 1/16-mile distance with his winning time of 1:42.65.

After the race, Talamo said: "There is no comparison between real dirt and synthetic—he really took to it… We’ll be back in four weeks [for the Gr. 1 Wood Memorial Stakes on April 4]."

And a Kentucky Derby prospect who did not find the switch from synthetic to dirt as agreeable as I Want Revenge was Haynesfield, whose four-race win streak was snapped with a dismal eighth-place finish in the Gotham Stakes.

Over at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., on Saturday, Mar. 7, Eclipse Award-winning filly Stardom Bound lined up for the $300,000 Gr. 1 Santa Anita Oaks for what was supposed to be a romp. But as she and trainer Bobby Frankel soon found out, victory would not come so easily.

"I thought she won, watching the race live . . . I’m just lucky my heart’s strong," Frankel said, after a heart-stopping blanket finish in which Stardom Bound hit the wire just ahead of  Third Dawn and Hooh Why. Under jockey Mike Smith, Stardom Bound began the race at the back of the nine-horse field, as is her style. But as she unleashed her powerful closing kick, she ran into traffic troubles at the top of the stretch and only just managed to navigate through to challenge Third Dawn and Hooh Why for the win.

Now it looks like the champion filly may not be headed to the Kentucky Derby after all – according to her connections, IEAH president Mike Iavarone, Stardom Bound will race next in the Gr. 1 Ashland Stakes and then most likely the Kentucky Oaks.

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