Virginia-bred and -sired males took centerstage in two stakes on Friday at Colonial Downs, and odds-on favorites Repo Rocks and Showstopper Copper reigned supreme in the $125,000 Edward P. Evans and $125,000 Punch Line Stakes, respectively.
With the entirety of Friday’s card taken off the turf due to a late afternoon downpour, both the added money events were run on the dirt.
Double B Racing Stables’ millionaire and multiple graded stakes winner Repo Rocks proved much the best in the 1-1/16 miles Edward P. Evans, beating five older Virginia-bred or -sired males by 6½ lengths.
After establishing himself in second and to the outside of Buddy Buddy through the first call, the Jamie Ness trainee with Mychel Sanchez in the irons took command soon after the quarter pole. After traveling comfortably on the lead through the turn, at the top of the stretch Repo Rocks pulled away by multiple lengths and was never threatened down the stretch, covering the distance in 1:42.11 over a track labeled “muddy.”
“I thought we were the best horse turf or dirt,” Ness said. “He’s a blue-collar horse. Claimed for $40,000 a few years ago. That’s a claim of a lifetime. He’s still at the top of his game and still earning. He’s a very good Virginia-bred and we’ll try to run him sparingly so he’s ready to come back to Colonial next year.”
Sent off at 3-5, Repo Rocks paid $3.20, $2.10, and $2.10. Running second, King Covee returned $2.20 and $2.10. Sendero paid $2.80 for finishing third.
“It turned out to be really easy with the race coming off the turf,” Sanchez said. “But I love this horse on the turf, too. I had confidence in him either way, but we’re happy to take it like this. I felt like he was much the best. My instructions were to break and see where he puts you. He was traveling beautifully and put me where he wanted to be.”
Bred in Virginia by Mrs. C. Oliver Iselin III, the 7-year-old gelding by Tapiture out of the Not For Love mare Hawaiian Love now boasts a career record of 52-11-11-8 with career earnings of $1,120,466.
After stealing to the front early in the 5½-furlong Punch Line Stakes, William Dove II’s Showstopper Copper could not be caught, earning his first added-money score.
Trained by Thomas Lingenfelter and piloted by Ben Curtis, Showstopper Copper stopped the clock in 1:03.69 and beat his four rivals by five lengths. The Punch Line was run over a “fast” track.
“I told Ben, ‘You’ve won more races than I’ve saddled,’” Lingenfelter said. “He’ll break sharp, just get him out of the gates clean, after that you do what you’ve got to do. I think (Showstopper Copper) can run on the grass, but I don’t think he’s as good on the grass as he is on the dirt.”
“He’s as honest as can be, has tons of heart and once he takes the lead, you better have a damn good horse to take him down,” said owner William Dove. “I’ve known Ned & Jill (breeders) for 25 years or more and have been using Tom for training exclusively the last six or seven years. I can’t say enough about all of them.”
Asked about the expectations heading into the race and the surface change, Dove said, “I expected to be praying alot and I wasn’t disappointed in that regard. I actually looked forward to trying him on turf today and seeing how he would do. He’s only had one grass start previously and it turned out to be a bad experience overall. I was hoping to get some honest feedback from him today as to whether or not he liked the turf experience and to find out if he is a turf horse as well as a dirt horse. But I am happy about the win!”
Bet down to 1-2, Showstopper Copper returned $3.00, $2.20, and $2.10. Finishing second, Stormy Flight paid $2.40 and $2.40. Embolden ran third and returned $2.20
Bred in Virginia by Carlos Moore & Gillian Gordon-Moore, the 4-year-old by Air Force blue out of the Concord Point mare Santin’s Anna now has a career record of 9-5-0-1 with $165,800 in the bank.
Sister stakes are scheduled for Saturday at Colonial Downs, beginning in race 3 with the 1-1/16 miles $125,000 Brookmeade. The 5½-furlong $125,000 Glenn Petty is set for race 7. Post time for Saturday’s 10-race program is 12:30 p.m. ET.
