Nobals Bounds Gate to Wire In Twin Spires Turf Sprint
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Photo: Skip Dickstein
Nobals, with Gerardo Corrales up, wins the Twin Spires Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs
Standing in the winner's circle, Larry Rivelli fished through the pockets of his black suit, pulled out a mutuel ticket, and held it out to show a few reporters. One of them had asked how he felt about his gelding Nobals being overlooked in the wagering for the Twin Spires Turf Sprint (G2T).
"A hundred across the board," Rivelli said, shorthand for $100 to win, $100 to place, and $100 to show. The 38-1 shot added $291,400 to his lifetime earnings from the winner's share of the $500,000 purse. And Rivelli, already the recipient of the trainer's customary 10%, added $6,530 in pin money by backing his $78.42 winner at the windows.
"I thought he was going to run good," Rivelli said. "I didn't know if he was going to win but his last race was a complete throwout. He acted up at the gate and he broke terrible. I schooled him all week, and he didn't act up in the gate at all. I was confident he was going to show up. I just didn't know if he was this quality."
Rivelli and winning owner Vince Foglia's Patricia's Hope stable have Two Phil's in the Kentucky Derby.
"We were all coming down, and figured that we would throw him into a race, and see how he'd do," Rivelli said.
Now they know what they have. A 4-year-old by Noble Mission , Nobals bounced out of the gate on top from the one hole, hustled to the lead, and never looked back. Jockey Gerardo Corrales gunned it through early fractions of :22.03 and :44.48.
"I told the kid, 'Just go, no matter what. Don't let anybody cross your face,'" Rivelli said. "That's the way he likes to run."
Into the stretch Nobals actually had a kick and opened up 2 1/2 lengths. Two closers, Motorious and Go Bears Go made up ground in the final eighth but not enough to catch the winner. Nobals completed the 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:02.45, just .32 off the course record, with Motorious three-quarters of a length back and Go Bears Go spread out another 1 1/4 lengths behind.
"This is a nice horse," Corrales said. "He was a runner all the way. Mr. Rivelli told me that I could do it and he wished me good luck. For me, this is the biggest purse that I've ever won. It's exciting."
Favorite and defending Twin Spires Turf Sprint winner Arrest Me Red was compromised by some bumping into the stretch, though not enough to imagine he might have caught Nobals.
Noble Reflection was fourth, followed by Arrest Me Red , Bad Beat Brian , Big Invasion , Evan Sing , Oceanic , Just Might , and Carotari . Artemus Cotylimits, Necker Island , and Nothing Better scratched to leave a field of 11.
Nobals, bred in Kentucky by Dr. John Chandler, is out of the Empire Maker mare Pearly Blue. Of Pearly Blue's five foals to race all have been winners, with Nobals being the most successful and the lone stakes winner.
Chandler named Nobals with a wink because he was gelded but Rivelli theorizes the joke is often missed because the sire Noble Mission tricks some readers into assuming it's pronounced "nobles."