One month after being claimed for $50,000 out of a blowout maiden
victory in his debut, Scherer Magic became a graded stakes winner
Saturday at Betfair Hollywood Park.
Taken by trainer John Sadler on behalf of owners Gary and Cecil
Barber, the Doneraile Court gelding stormed past the tiring pacesetters
to win the Grade III, $150,000 Hollywood Juvenile Championship.
An Iowa bred out of the Touch Gold mare She’s a Nasty One, Scherer
Magic earned nearly double – $90,000 – Saturday what he had been claimed
for when he won by 7 ¼ lengths as the 6-5 favorite June 14.
Ridden by Joe Talamo, Scherer Magic, the 3-1 second choice in the
field of seven, increased his bankroll to $107,400 while completing the
six furlongs over Cushion Track in 1:11.67. The margin of victory was 2 ½
lengths.
Sadler also saddled the runner-up, 13-1 outsider Carson’s Crown, who finished 1 ¾ lengths clear of 29-1 shot Just Call Me Al.
Amarish, the 2-5 favorite on the strength of wins in the first two
races of hgis career by a combined 12 ¼ lengths, was hounded through a
21.81 opening quarter mile and a 45.70 half by Strong Wind, then had
nothing to give in the final eighth of a mile. He wound up sixth.
The off-the-board finish by the Willard L. Proctor Memorial Stakes
winner led to inflated show prices. Of the $79,704 in the Juvenile
Championship show pool, $61,079 was wagered on Amarish.
In providing Talamo his second win in the race in three years – he
also won with J P’s Gusto in 2010 – Scherer Magic paid $8.20, $4.60 and
$7. Carson’s Crown returned $7.80 and $14.40. The show price on Just
Call Me Al was $25.
“(Scherer Magic) had a bunch of good works and (Gary Barber) is kind
of a riverboat gambler,’’ said Sadler. “He picked him out and I kind of
did my homework on him. I thought he was racy and I had another
Doneraile Court a few years ago named Noble Court.
“I liked the works on him and the way he looked when he came over.
You have to have some guts to claim an Iowa bred. You have to be lucky,
too. We won a (six way) shake for him that day. I thought (Carson’s
Crown) also ran well. He broke a little bit poorly, but he closed really
well.’’
Bonde indicated Amarish will be examined after his subpar performance.
“We’ll scope him and go from there,’’ he said. “(Jockey Edwin Maldonado)
said the horse was going really easy down the backside and didn’t mind
being inside. He got to the quarter pole, took a couple of deep breaths
and shut it down.’’