NYRA/Adam Coglianese
By Sarah Mace
Royal Posse (Posse), a 5-year-old gelding claimed for $20,000 by Rudy Rodriguez for Michael Dubb, Bethlehem Stables LLC and Gary Aisquith in May 2015, continues to go from strength to strength.
In the midst of an astonishingly successful run, in which he has finished first or second in every race since the claim, the bay added another stakes victory to the win column on Friday when he took the 1 1/8-mile, $100,000 Evan Shipman for New York-breds for the second straight year.
Winner last out of the open Alydar Stakes at Saratoga on August 7 at the same trip, for which he earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 101, Royal Posse was the bettors’ top choice of the five who lined up for the Evan Shipman at odds of 5-4. He broke from post three with Irad Ortiz, Jr. in the irons.
In the early stages of the race, Royal Posse raced in fourth position from well off the pace – at one point as much as 12 lengths behind aggressively-ridden and loose-on-the-lead pacesetter Crackerjack Jones. Crackerjack Jones traveled the first quarter-mile in a challenging 23.17, went a half in 46.85 and six furlongs in 1:11.01, while being chased by Wake Up in Malibu.
After saving ground in the clubhouse turn, and moving out into the two path on the backstretch, Royal Posse was asked for run midway around the far turn and angled out.
NYRA/Chelsea Durand
Advancing on the grandstand side, while the field, which was spread out early, tightened up, Royal Posse and three others were in with a chance. He picked off other rivals, then tackled Crackerjack Jones. In the final sixteenth Royal Posse took over and pulled off decisively to win by 5 1/4 lengths. Crackerjack Jones hung on to nose Ostrolenka for second. Wake Up in Malibu and Good Luck Gus completed the order of finish.
After a mile in 1:36.61, the final time for the nine furlongs was 1:49.44. [VIDEO]
Said jockey Ortiz, “They were going pretty fast up front. I just let my horse be comfortable and let him go at his speed like last time [in the Alydar]. Last time, the pace was a little slower, but he always tries hard. No matter how fast they’re going ahead, he always tries hard. At the half-mile pole I was asking him a little more but he was ready. Rudy did a good job with him.”
Rodriguez confessed to feeling a little more anxious from the sidelines. “I thought we were in trouble. The pace was very, very fast. Sometimes, when they go that fast they change the setup,” the conditioner said. “I thought we were going to be maybe third [early], sitting in a good position. Then, when I saw our horse that far back and we went pretty wide, I said, ‘Come in, I don’t know if we’re going to get there.’”
Rodriguez continued, “When they were turning for home at the quarter-pole I said, ‘Man, it doesn’t look like they’re stopping.’ The stretch at Saratoga is pretty long and as soon as he started moving in, he started picking it up. He’s a talented horse.”
Royal Posse has earned $571,400 since he was claimed, and his entire bankroll now stands at $721,245. The gelding’s record is now stands at nine firsts and 10 seconds in 32 starts.
Bred by Richard J. Troncone Senior and Junior, and foaled at Mill Creek Farm near Stillwater, Royal Posse is one of four winners from six starters out of Struckbylightning, an unraced Kentucky-bred daughter of Cryptoclearance. Her one other black type performer is Ampart Ridge by Cactus Ridge, who earned $176,000. The mare’s most recent reported foal is a 2-year-old filly by Desert Party who has not started.
The Evan Shipman is named for the racing columnist who died in 1957. The Spanish Civil War and World War II veteran covered thoroughbred and standardbred racing for the Morning Telegraph.
