 Richly Blended winner of the 2001 Gotham Stakes. |
Gotham Stakes
Dateline: 03/18/01
Richly Blended remained undefeated in three starts as he bounded to the lead from the gate and never looked back, winning by 5 1/4 lengths. Sent off as the second favorite at 3.40-1, Richly Blended's final time for the mile race was a respectable 1:35.14.
Mr. John chased in second for most of the race and while no match for the winner, dug in gamely to hold second when Voodoo rallied from 7th for the show spot. The 9-5 favorite was D. Wayne Lukas trainee Scorpion who ran a very dull race to finish 5th, beaten nearly 14 lengths. "I hate to make excuses, but I don't think he got a good hold of the track," Lukas said. "He got out-run today, but he did gallop out strong, so we could build off of that. We're going to regroup for now."
Winning trainer Ben Perkins Jr. said: "Drawing the rail helped our decision to go to the lead. I didn't want him to get stuck behind horses, and I told Rick (Wilson) to ride him hard out of the gate. I was very pleased with how he was running. The fractions were honest, but it looked like he was doing it pretty easily. Rick was waiting on him, but when he asked, the horse stayed clear. I don't know about the Wood Memorial. Two-turn races are much different from a one-turn race. I'll talk to (owner Raymond Dweck) and we'll make a decision."
 Richly Blended Richly Blended drawing off from Mr. John and Voodoo in the Gotham. |
Gotham Stakes
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show 1 Richly Blended Wilson 8.80 5.40 4.80 8 Mr. John Velazquez 6.50 5.10 6 Voodoo Castillo 4.60 Winning Time: 1:35.14 $2 Exacta 1-8 54.50 $2 Trifecta 1-8-6 378.50 $2 Superfecta 1-8-6-5 1,807.00Results Chart from Equibase
Other prep race results:
Photo by Terence Dulay.
