Gallant Son was in contention to deep stretch, but faded slightly in the final yards and finished seventh in the $2 million Bessemer Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif.
Midshipman, the second choice in the wagering, prevailed by 1¼ lengths over Square Eddie, the 7-2 betting favorite in the mile and one-sixteenth race on the Pro-Ride synthetic track. Ridden by Garrett Gomez, trained by Bob Baffert and owned by Darley Stable, Midshipman was timed in 1:40.94 and paid $9.20, $4.40 and $3.20.
Square Eddie, ridden by Rafael Bejarano, finished second and returned $5 and $3.80. It was a half-length back to Street Hero, ridden by Alex Solis, and a $4.40 show payoff.
Sent off at odds of 16-1, Gallant Son, ridden by Leslie Mawing, was beaten a little over three lengths for the win, and encountered some traffic problems en route. He loomed in fourth place past mid-stretch, but weakened slightly late.
According to the official chart footnotes: “Gallant Son checked slightly along the rail on the first turn, saved ground for a half, steadied along the inside nearing the quarter pole and faded in the stretch.”
Trainer Frank Lucarelli, however, said it was more a matter of pace, pointing out that Midshipman, Square Eddie and Street Hero—the top three finishers—set the pace through a dawdling opening half-mile of :47.08 seconds.
“I was afraid that there wasn’t enough pace and that’s how it played,” Lucarelli said. “All in all, he’s running against horses as good as it gets, and we only get beat three and something lengths. I’m not unhappy at all, I thought he ran a good race.”
Lucarelli and owner Chris Randall were going to discuss Gallant Son’s plans over dinner Saturday. The options include turning out the colt before a summer campaign at Emerald Downs, or a short respite followed by another race, perhaps in California.
The complete order of finish for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile: Midshipman, Square Eddie, Street Hero, Terrain, Pioneerof the Nile, West Side Bernie, Gallant Son, Silent Valor, Azul Leon, Munnings, Bushranger and Mine That Bird.
Emerald Downs’ champion 2-year-old, Gallant Son has a 4-0-0 record from six starts and earnings of $113,038.
