David B. Bloom's Taste of Paradise ended a 6-race losing
streak in a big way Saturday afternoon as he rallied wide through the
lane for a 2-length victory over Tiger Heart in the $500,000 Vosburgh Stakes (G1). The victory, worth $55 to the $2 win players, is expected to
vault the 6-year-old son of Conquistador
Cielo to the Breeders' Cup Sprint on
Saturday, October 29th. Far back early, Taste of Paradise saved ground, angled out at
the eighth-pole and roared for the victory in 1:08.82 for the six
furlongs, as longshot Uncle Camie set an uncontested early pace of 21.96, 44.48, and 56.63
on the fast main track. "A lot of the riders out in California have said that as soon as he goes
into the turn, he tries to back out a little bit," said trainer Gary
Mandella. "The best remedy for a horse like that is to get him on a
wider turn. We've been wanting to run him here at Belmont Park. He has
been a little bit problematic, but he was training great and his feet
are better than they have been in a while. He was a little hesitant at
the top of the stretch, but when he saw daylight, he knew what that
meant. He cut and he was gone. Garrett (Gomez) rode a great
race. We'll take him back to California. I need to monitor his feed on a daily basis and we'll ship back here."
Results Chart from DRF
Both Gomez and Taste of Paradise are getting used to each other and to Belmont Park. "I worked him the other morning for the first time," Gomez said. "Gary (Mandella) told me to play it by ear and to do what I think was best. I felt like the horse was comfortable coming off the backside. I was happy at the three-eighths pole. I started swinging around at the top of the stretch. I changed my mind and went and split horses. Then, when I put him out in the clear, he was running. I can't ask the horse to do any better than what he just did." It was the first win of the year for Taste of Paradise, who has now won six of 27 career starts.
Tiger Heart ran big in his first Grade 1 start. "I was expecting our horse to run good. I wasn't too concerned about the other ones," said Tiger Heart's trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. "Our horse did run good. I'm disappointed we got beat, but he ran big. He broke good and I guess some of the other speed didn't. Edgar got him settled in nice and the horse usually does that. Turning for home, it seemed like Frankel's horse (Mass Media) wanted to keep us down in there. He kept laying on us and laying on us and that might have cost us something but we weren't going to beat the winner today. I would say if we decided to run him in (the Breeders' Cup Sprint), he'd be up to it but it's just a matter if he could get in. This is only his first stake race (this year) and he finished second so points may have something to do with (whether he gets in). But if he does qualify and if he's feeling good, we'll take a shot."
Lion Tamer was a neck back in third, and it was a head back to Silver Wagon in fourth. I'm the Tiger, Mass Media and Unfurl The Flag were close as well, but was farther back to disappointing Pomeroy in eighth. Woke Up Dreamin and Uncle Camie trailed. "It's just a shame, the whole thing," said Pomeroy's jockey, Joe Bravo. "It just wasn't our day today. I really believe I was on the best horse. Both horses came in on us at the start. Turning for home, we were running with them, and then we got shutoff again. It's a shame we had to be in that predicament. There's no doubt in my mind I was on the best horse today."
Jockey Club Gold Cup
Beldame Stakes
Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational
The Vosburgh
Flower Bowl Invitational
