William S. Farish Jr.’s Pool Play,
trained by Mark Casse, was dismissed as the second longest shot on the board in
Saturday’s Grade 2 Hawthorne Gold Cup, despite being the only Grade 1 winner in
the field. That didn’t deter him, or rider Miguel Mena from going from last to
first to grind out a half-length victory.
The Grade 2, $500,000 Gold Cup saw
the complexion of the race change early on the morning of the race when
probable pacesetter Nate’s Mineshaft was scratched. That scratch led to some uncertainty as to
where the pace would come. When the
horses sprung from the gate, favored Alternation went to the front, pushed
along by Eldaafer through the opening half mile. Into the turn, Cease joined in on the action
while Mister Marti Gras rallied along the inside.
Pool Party trailed the field for
most of the race and was still last at the quarter pole but shifted out to the
five path in the upper stretch and surged to a narrow lead mid-stretch. Under Miguel Mena, Pool Play emerged ahead
inside the final sixteenth and managed to hold off Cease and Eldaafer at the
wire. The win was the seventh in the career of Pool Play from 31 races, and
boosted his career earnings to $1,240,616.
Cease held well for second, followed by Eldaafer, Mister Marti Gras, Fly
Lexis Fly and Alternation. Pool Play went the mile and a quarter in
2:06.36 on a track labeled fast.
Miguel Mena, the rider of Pool
Play, was happy to see the winner back on dirt, “I won the Stephen Foster the
last time I rode him. I had confidence in him because I knew he could handle
the dirt. He loved the long stretch here. He just keeps coming. He got a good
trip even though the pace was slow. When we got to the three-eighths pole, I
was pretty excited. I was trying to stay away from Cease, who was also coming
late.”
Randi Melton,
asst. trainer Pool Play: "The long stretch really plays to our favor, and
Miguel knows the horse. He's about as good as he can get right now."
Jesse Campbell rode the
second-place finisher Cease, “We had a perfect trip. The horse ran big, we just
got beat. I was pretty much where I wanted to be the whole race. He ran very
well to the quarter pole, he just got beat. He gave me everything he had, no
regrets, no excuses.”
Pool Play
paid $34.00, $8.00, and $8.00. Cease returned $3.20 and $3.40. Eldaafer brought
back $9.20.