Adam Coglianese
Recording his first victory around two turns and second career stakes score, 4-year-old Brigand (Flatter) won the one-mile, $75,000 Turnofthecentury overnight stakes for older New York-breds at Aqueduct on Sunday in wire-to-wire fashion.
Last out winner of the 7-furlong $104,000 City Of Laurel Stakes at Laurel Park on December 8 and looking to put together back-to-back stakes wins, the Bob Baffert-trainee scratched out of Saturday’s open 1 1/16-mile Evening Attire Stakes at Aqueduct in favor of a slightly shorter distance and New York-bred rivals. He had previously won a one-turn one-mile allowance race at Belmont last October.
Heavily favored by post time at odds of 3-5 and drawn in the inside post (of five), Brigand got away alertly under Irad Ortiz, Jr. and by the time he entered the clubhouse turn led Groomedforvictory by a length.
Pressed ever closer by Groomedforvictory along the backstretch and around the far turn, Brigand continued to lead, clocking a half-mile in 47.94 and six furlongs in 1:12.13. Kicking free in upper stretch, he opened up daylight on his way to a 2 3/4-length victory in a final time of 1:36.70.
Mine Over Matter, winner of the Hudson on Showcase Day and third last out in the Grade 3 Fall Highweight, won a three-way photo for place after closing from third, with Socialsaul, fourth and fifth in the early stages, finishing a head back in third and a head in front of Groomedforvictory in fourth. Uncle T Seven, making his first start since August 1, completed the order of finish.
Winning jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., who recorded his fourth straight victory on Sunday’s card in the Turnofthecentury, said, “I had a lot of horse. Tonja [Terranova, assistant to winning trainer Bob Baffert] did a good job with the horse. I broke good out of there, like Tonja told me to do. I put him in front, and he relaxed and had a comfortable trip.”
Irad Ortiz won races 4-7, while his brother, apprentice jockey Jose Ortiz, won races 1-3. Irad added, “[Today] has been a good experience for [me and my brother]. We try in every race, and today we got good horses.”
Purchased by Kaleem Shah as the $925,000 sale-topper out of the 2011 OBS March sale, Brigand aced his debut at Hollywood Park in July 2011 and finished second next out in the Grade 3 Hollywood Juvenile, making all three starts that year on synthetic at Hollywood and Del Mar.
After shuttling between West and East Coasts for the first part of 2012, Brigand has been based in New York since last August. In addition to his victory in the City of Laurel Stakes on December 8 and two 2012 state-bred allowance wins, Brigand finished second to eventual Grade 1 winner The Lumber Guy in the Grade 2 Jerome at Aqueduct in April and second to eventual Grade 1 winner Willy Beamin in the Mike Lee at Belmont in June.
Brigand’s record now stands at 5-5-0 from 13 starts with $ $333,820 in earnings.
Bred by Berkshire Stud in Pine Plains where he was foaled, Brigand is out of Silence Please, an unraced Quiet American mare. Four foals of five to start from Silence Please have won, including New York-bred stakes winner Sky Music by Sky Mesa ($130,070). Silence Please also has a multiply-placed 3-year-old colt by Bluegrass Cat named Everydoghashisday, a 2-year-old filly by Bernstein, and a yearling full sister to Brigand. She was bred last year to Mineshaft.
