Air Force Blue Gets First Black-Type Winner
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Photo: Coglianese Photos/Ryan Thompson
Fighting Force wins the Not Surprising Stakes at Gulfstream Park
Ashford Stud's Air Force Blue was represented by his first black-type winner June 26, when Fighting Force galloped to victory in the $75,000 Not Surprising Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
Lea Farm's 3-year-old received a dream trip in the mile turf stakes for sophomores, benefiting from an extended speed duel between the favorites before surging to the lead at the top of the stretch and drawing clear by 3 1/2 lengths under Samy Camacho.
After being purchased privately last winter, the Jeff Engler trainee encountered traffic trouble in three starts, but found his way Saturday to an impressive score.
"It was three races without a good trip," Engler said. "Samy said he was going to be patient and wait, wait, wait. It just worked out perfectly for us. We had a lot of speed in front of us and he got a good trip and the horse kicked on for him. It's nice when you dial it up and it actually happens."
Fighting Force broke alertly from post 1 to obtain a prime stalking position behind Bright Devil , the Mark Casse-trained 5-2 second choice ridden by Edwin Gonzalez, and King of Dreams , the 6-5 favorite ridden by Emisael Jaramillo, as a speed duel quickly developed and continued along the backstretch and into the far turn. After sitting off fractions of :23.28 and :47.50 for the first half-mile, Fighting Force was angled off the rail on the turn into the homestretch before making a three-wide sweep around the tiring pacesetters on his way to a dominating victory.
The Engler trainee ($14.60) ran a mile in 1:38.18 on a turf course rated good. Perfect Silent Cat , the 23-1 longest shot on the board, rallied from last in the six-horse field to finish second. Bright Devil held third, four lengths behind the runner-up. King of Dreams faded to fifth.
Fighting Force, formerly trained by Todd Pletcher for Coolmore partners, broke his maiden in December at Gulfstream, finished second in the Dania Beach Stakes, and checked in a close fourth in the Palm Beach Stakes before being privately purchased by his current owners. The Kentucky-bred colt finished off the board in the Cutler Bay Stakes after bumping at the start in his first race for his new connections. He went on to finish fourth following an extremely wide trip in the English Channel Stakes prior to finishing fourth in an optional claiming allowance, in which he sat off a slow pace and was unable to show the kick that powered him to victory Saturday.
"He's a nice horse. He does everything right. He trains good and eats good. He likes what he does," Engler said. "Honestly, those last three races, if you go back and watch them, were just awful trips. He got stuck on the rail or just got behind horses and couldn't go anywhere. We always knew it was there. He just needed a trip and luckily we got it."
Fighting Force may make his next start at Del Mar, where Engler is planning to send eight horses for the upcoming meet.
A $400,000 purchase by M.V. Magnier from Wavertree Stables' consignment to the 2020 Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, Fighting Force was bred in Kentucky by Damian & Braxton Lynch's Royal Oak Farm out of the Smart Strike mare No Splits , and is her third and last reported foal. While all three are winners, Fighting Force is her first black-type winner. She was last reported bred to Oscar Performance for 2020. Royal Oak sold Fighting Force to Glencrest Farm, agent, for $55,000 as a weanling at the 2018 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. They sold No Splits to Taproot Bloodstock for $2,000 at the 2019 Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale, where she was believed to be in foal to Cupid .