Coglianese Photos
By Sarah Mace
Drawing Away Stable’s Doctor J Dub got out of the blocks quickly from post seven under jockey Tyler Gaffalione and never looked back to wire Gulfstream Park’s $75,000 Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint on Saturday in a game effort at odds of 28-1.
Six-year-old Doctor J Dub resumed blinkers for the Bob Umphrey, equipment he had shed when stretching out to a mile in his prior start on June 26 at Gulfstream. The sprinter tired and ran up the track at the longer distance and trainer Jena Antonucci explained, “[Going a mile] was an experiment for us, more a pedigree thing. It’s hard to take an older horse and shut him down and have him go two turns. But it was a question we wanted to ask, so the race became more of a big breeze for him.” The Bob Umphrey was Doctor J Dub’s third start for Antonucci after relocating from the barn of Maria Borell.
Returning to his favored five-furlong distance, at which he scored all four prior wins, all at Gulfstream, Doctor J Dub got a jump on the field at the break, and spent the length of race fending off the attentions of multiple-stakes winner Daring Kathy.
Leading by a length through early splits of 21.93 and 43.83 under a snug hold, the bay was asked for his utmost and dug deep for the length of the stretch. He refused to give ground to the rival who pressed at his flank, and scored a game victory by a neck in a final time of 55.38 over the firm turf. Daring Kathy (3-1) finished second, followed across the line by 3-2 favorite Starship Kitten.
“I’m so proud of this horse,” Antonucci said. “Our huge focus when we got him was to get him to take a breath, relax, be happy.” She is thinking of bringing the gelding, who broke his maiden at Gulfstream Park at three for $12,500 and has raced exclusively in the Sunshine State, to New York.
Doctor J Dub was bred by Dr. Patricia S. Purdy in partnership with Edwin and Mara Edelberg and foaled at Patricia and Chris Purdy’s Ivy League Farm in Ithaca. He sold as a weaning for $50,000 at Keeneland November in 2010, as a yearling for $110,000 at Keeneland September and ultimately for $195,000 at the OBS select 2-year-old sale in 2012. He is one of three winners and first stakes winner from three starters out of Anotherbusride (Delineator), who is a half sister to Grade 1 winner Tali’sluckybusride. The mare was purchased by Purdy at the 2007 Keeneland January sale for $28,000 and has since been resold.
From five wins, five seconds and four thirds, Doctor J Dub has earned $129,205.
