Two Emmys Gets Confidence Booster in Outbound Ike
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Photo: Four Footed Fotos/Doug Clark
Two Emmys wins the Outbound Ike Stakes at Hawthorne Race Course
Despite getting boxed in early and drifting late, grade 1 winner Two Emmys found his way to a three-length victory June 25 in the $75,000 Outbound Ike Stakes at Hawthorne Race Course.
The 2021 Mr. D. Stakes (G1T) winner came off a seventh in the April 23 Elkhorn Stakes (G2T) at Keeneland for co-owners Wolfe Racing and Hugh Robertson, and got a needed confidence boost Saturday in the 1 1/16-mile turf event. Sent off as the even-money favorite in a seven-horse field, he ran to his odds under Marcelino Pedroza Jr. after finding room to shift out off the turn for home.
"He slipped a little bit leaving the gate, Marcelino said, so those other horses outran him to the first turn," reported Robertson, who trains the 6-year-old English Channel gelding. "He just sat in there with him in a good spot. He maybe was in a little bit tight once in a while, but he's a nice horse. He had run some good races coming from off the pace before too, so I wasn't too concerned with him. I just wanted to keep him home for a race where he could run out of his own stall instead of shipping out and running him like we had."
Very nice to see Two Emmys be able to work out a winning trip coming from off the pace this time. Very classy horse prevailing over an incredibly solid field.
— Joseph Wulffe (@Whtnbourbonguy) June 25, 2022
Although he typically has found success racing on or near the front end, Two Emmys was content to settle fourth after breaking from post 1 as Betwithbothhands showed the way through a :23.59 quarter. He found himself fifth on the rail while that rival ran a :48.10 half. He was still fourth and looking for room through three-quarters in 1:12.38, but made his way into contention with a three-wide move around the quarter pole. Despite bumping with Bizzee Channel to his inside in upper stretch, he continued under a drive to reel in the pacesetter and kicked away in the final sixteenth after a 1:37.01 mile to finish in 1:43.31 on a turf course rated firm.
"Although the race came up fairly tough, he was a little classier horse than the rest of them, and that got him through it," Robertson said.
Robertson reported Two Emmys had an excuse for his off-the-board performance in the Elkhorn.
"He had a heat stroke when he ran down at Keeneland; that was the first hot day they had down there (this spring)," the trainer said. "He had never had any trouble with it before, but I think that explained his bad race. We got lucky today and had a nice cool day, and we treated him a little different and tried to build him up with electrolytes before the race, and he ran well."
Two Emmys gallops under the line in the Outbound Ike Stakes
Two Emmys paid $4.20 for a $2 win wager. Fellow graded stakes winner Captivating Moon rallied to nab the place, while Betwithbothhands held for third. The order of finish was completed by Current , Bizzee Channel, Temper Tantrum , and Lavender Earl .
Bred in Kentucky by Tottenwood Thoroughbreds out of the Buddha mare Miss Emmy , Two Emmys was a $4,500 purchase by Robertson from Vinery Sales' consignment to the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He improved his record to 6-8-1 from 22 starts, with earnings of $815,083. That record includes the March 26 Muniz Memorial Classic Stakes Presented by Horse Racing Nation (G2T) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, along with multiple graded stakes placings. He is the last reported foal to race out of Miss Emmy and her only graded winner.
Two Emmys will soon join the Delaware Park string of Robertson's son, trainer McLean "Mac" Robertson.
"I'm just going home to Nebraska for the summer and let Mac handle it," he said. "There should be something on the East Coast for this horse. At Delaware you're within easy shipping distance from a variety of tracks."