Trouble Kid Flies Home in Gallant Bob
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Trouble Kid was gunned from the gate and never looked back in the $300,000 Gallant Bob Stakes (gr. III) Sept. 19 at Parx Racing, holding off 4-5 favorite Limousine Liberal to win by a neck.
The 13-1 shot, a 3-year-old son of Harlan's Holiday, earned his third straight victory for Barbara Hopkins and trainer Ramon Preciado, who claimed him in July for $15,000. It was his first graded win.
Off alertly under jockey Joshua Navarro, Trouble Kid edged to the lead through a scramble of speed for the first furlong of the six-furlong test. He ran a quarter in :21.32 and a half in :44.31 while widening to a two-length lead over six other sophomore rivals.
The bay gelding turned for home with Limousine Liberal closing on his outside and Bayerd attempting a run up the rail, but he held safe through five-eighths in :57.20 to finish in 1:10.56 on a fast track.
Trouble Kid returned $28.40, $9.20, and $5, while Limousine Liberal brought $2.60 and $2.20, with Bayerd paying $5. Hebbronville, Grand Billi, Recount, and Catalina Red completed the order of finish. Always Sunshine scratched.
The winner was bred in Kentucky by Morris B. Floyd, Pat Farrah, Dan Tsujioka and Dave Alban out of the Mr. Greeley mare Triumphantly, and was purchased by Northwest Stud for $21,000 from the Fasig-Tipton 2013 Kentucky select yearling sale when consigned by Floyd and Chuck Givens. He failed to find victory in four starts prior to being claimed by his current connections, but has not lost since then. The Gallant Bob victory improves his record to 3-2-1 from seven starts for earnings of $218,890.