NYRA/Adam Coglianese
It was déjà vu all over again at Aqueduct Racetrack on Sunday as progeny of New York-based sire Posse (Rockridge Stud) swept a pair of co-featured juvenile stakes. On November 16 Regal Minister and The Lewis Dinner took down the Notebook and Key Cents Stakes, respectively. On Sunday Chasing Bubbles wired the $150,000 Great White Way division of the New York Stallion Stakes series two races after The Lewis Dinner came back with a victory in the Fifth Avenue.
A homebred for Windhorse Thoroughbreds, Chasing Bubbles was let go at odds of 16-1 in the Great White Way, in part due to the presence of heavy 1-2 favorite Disco Partner, and in part due to a class hike. The colt was facing winners for the first time after breaking his maiden by a narrow margin in a $40,000 state-bred claiming race as recently as December 13. In fact, in five prior career starts he had only raced twice at the maiden special weight level and was well-beaten on both occasions.
Ridden aggressively from the bell from post seven by jockey Israel Rodriguez, Chasing Bubbles assumed command of the eight-horse field early and never looked back. As the rest chased two or more lengths back, he carved out a first half-mile in 47.63 and proceeded unchallenged to the wire. Keeping to business as others began to close in mid-to-late stretch, Chasing Bubbles secured the victory by 1 1/2 lengths, completing six furlongs in 1:12.65. Favorite Disco Partner, who stumbled at the start, closed from fourth to finish second, a half-length ahead of Clockwork in third. Following the first three across the line were B. B.’s Remington, Deputy Busterstone, Nick’s Posse, Golden Luck and Gear Jammer. [VIDEO]
Chasing Bubbles began his career by trailing every step of the way in the slop in his August 31 Saratoga debut. In each subsequent start, he has shown good gate speed and, with the exception of another special weight outing on December 3 over off going, carried the speed well. The break-through stakes victory improves his record to two wins a second from six starts and improves his earnings to $124,597,
NYRA/Adam Coglianese
Jeff Odintz, who is the assistant to winning trainer Ken McPeek, said, “I think you can’t count his first race at Saratoga, and I don’t think he really likes a wet track all that much, either. The first time he got the lead, [in his third start], he got confident. He’s been good since then. He did throw in a clunker since then, but it was a sloppy track against maiden special weights and he was down on the inside and couldn’t get loose on his own. Then we put him in an easier spot, and he got his confidence back.”
Continued Odintz, “[Chasing Bubbles] looked like the main speed today. I didn’t tell the jockey to send him to the front, I let him make that decision on his own, and that’s what he did.”
Chasing Bubbles, who was bred in partnership by Windhorse Thoroughbreds and Mallory Mort, had a right to succeed with the class hike in the Great White Way. Out of Scottish Bubbly, a Florida-bred stakes-winning router by Cherokee Run, he has three winning siblings from three to start, topped by 2-year-old stakes-winning dirt sprinter Sentimental Lass, who earned over $160,000.
Scottish Bubbly currently has a yearling filly by Freud named Champagne Therapy and was bred back to the same stallion last spring.
