Capo Bastone Springs King’s Bishop Stunner

Capo Bastone finished with a powerful rally to win the King's Bishop Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. (Photo courtesy of Adam Coglianese/NYRA)
Capo Bastone entered the $500,000 King’s Bishop Stakes on Saturday without a stakes victory on his record but he walked off the Saratoga Race Course main track a Grade 1 winner for trainer Todd Pletcher.
Capo Bastone closed with ground-devouring strides to collar Mentor Cane in the final furlong of the King’s Bishop at 28.25-to-1 odds. The Street Boss colt pulled away late to win by two lengths. He completed seven furlongs in 1:22.22 for his third win in nine starts for owner Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners.
After showing class with third place finishes in both the Grade 1 Frontrunner Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, Capo Bastone won his 2013 debut at Gulfstream Park.
Capo Bastone then showed little when ninth in the Spiral Stakes in March at Turfway Park but bounced back with a fast-finishing runner-up finish in the Derby Trial Stakes.
Rather than test Capo Bastone in the deep waters of the Triple Crown races, Pletcher cut him back to sprinting for the Grade 2 Woody Stephens Stakes at seven furlongs on June 8. A lackluster seventh-place finish in the Woody Stephens led to Capo Bastone being completely overlooked in the King’s Bishop, where Capo Pastone handsomely rewarded those who stuck with him. A $2 win bet returned $58.50.
“He's shown, on his good days, that he's good enough to compete in a race like this,” Pletcher said. “He was pretty close to [King's Bishop favorite] Forty Tales in the Derby Trial, and it seemed like he was training better than ever.
“It seemed like everything was gelling at the right time, and he was sitting on a good one, so we felt like, ‘Let's try a big one.’ It seems like he has found his niche. I think he gets a mile, no problem, but this was a good set-up for him today.”
For an Equibase chart, click here.