Trainer Ian Wilkes thought Marylou Whitney Stable’s 4-year-old colt Gorgeous Bird had considerable talent but just wasn’t quite getting it all together.
That changed in Saturday’s $50,000 Don Bernhardt Memorial Stakes at Ellis Park, when the gray colt exploded through the stretch under Chris Landeros for a half-length victory over Black Bear. It was the first stakes triumph and fourth victory in 14 career starts for Gorgeous Bird.
“That was impressive,†Wilkes, who had three horses in stakes at Indiana Grand Saturday night, said by phone. “He’s always been a talented horse. I just had to get him to come back and mentally get it together. Hopefully we can go on this year and have a lot of fun with him.â€
Landeros took advantage of the swift pace set by Mr Business, who was pressed by Tanner’s Popsicle, at 16-1 the second-longest shot in the field of eight under 2015 Ellis riding champ Didiel Osorio. Gorgeous Bird and the Jesus Castanon-ridden Black Bear stalked the pace and both horses fanned wide on the turn. But Landeros split horses late in the stretch to secure the victory, covering 6 1/2 furlongs in a good 1:14.70. Gorgeous Bird paid $15.80 to win.
Gorgeous Bird was coming off an eighth-place finish in a 1 1/8-mile allowance race at Churchill Downs. He tipped his hand with a huge five-eighths of a mile work in 59 seconds for the Bernhardt.
“I expected a big run from him today,†said Landeros, who married Wilkes’ daughter, Shelby, two days after the Kentucky Derby. “I’ve always liked the shorter distance with him. He seemed to be a little keen going a route, and I thought this 6 1/2 distance would let him back off a little bit with the faster fractions in front of him. That happened. He took a breather for me. We had a great trip, and he kicked in when it mattered.â€
Tanner’s Popsicle, claimed two races earlier for $40,000 by trainer Kim Hammond, did well to hang on to third, 1 1/2 lengths behind the Randy Morse-trained Black Bear, himself a $62,000 claim in his last start but a horse with considerable back class.
The big disappointment was heavy favorite Barbados, a graded-stakes winner who ran in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint last fall. He was never in the hunt and wound up beating only the tiring longshot Mr Business.
Gorgeous Bird, a son of Unbridled’s Song, was on the Kentucky Derby trail last year after winning a mile allowance race in his third start. However, a fifth place in the Fountain of Youth and sixth in the Blue Grass sent Wilkes in a different direction. But when, off a six-month layoff, Gorgeous Bird finished a good third in a mile allowance race at Churchill Downs, Wilkes tried him again at a longer distance.
“He ran a really good race going a mile first time back, which I thought was a real tremendous race,†Wilkes said. “I ran him a mile and an eighth, and maybe it was just too far for him. I wanted to shorten him back up, because he’s a naturally fast horse. I wanted to see what we had.â€
Whitney and her husband, John Hendrickson, live in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and Gorgeous Bird could have earned a shot at the elite summer meet at Saratoga Race Course. “If we can do good,†Wilkes said. “It’s a big step up, too.â€
