Awesome Banner Rolls to Hutcheson Victory

Awesome Banner put away an early challenge from Noholdingback Bear and drew off in the stretch to post a 4 3/4-length victory in the $100,000 Hutcheson Stakes (gr. III) for newly turned 3-year-olds Jan. 2 at Gulfstream Park.

Jacks or Better Farm homebred Awesome Banner broke away from the field with complete authority in the stretch, completing six furlongs in 1:09.57. 

Awesome Banner set a pressured pace between foes early, leading While Ye May through a quarter-mile in :22.10 and Noholdingback Bear through a half-mile in :44.87. Soon after that point, Awesome Banner and jockey Jose Caraballo opened a clear advantage and were not seriously challenged the rest of the way.

"This is a brilliant colt. I think he's going to have a long career ahead of him," Caraballo said. "He is very smart, a smart horse. Anything you ask him to do, he'll do it. I think he'll go longer. He's a fast horse, but he's not a speed horse—a crazy horse. He's very relaxed. The few times I've got on him, he's been very sensible—very smart. Nothing bothers him. He's very smart."

In two efforts, Awesome Banner has not been challenged late. Before Saturday's stakes victory, the son of Awesome of Course—Miranda Stands, by Zamindar had not raced since posting a 9 3/4-length victory in his debut, a 4 1/2-furlong maiden special weight June 5 at Gulfstream. Awesome Banner set a track record for the distance that day, completing the race in :51.07 on a fast track.

After the winning debut, trainer Stanley Gold said Awesome Banner needed surgery to remove a knee chip discovered while training for his next start. Given plenty of time off and a steady string of works, Gold stepped him up to graded stakes company in the Hutcheson.

"He got the chip the first time after we breezed him after he broke his maiden. He showed something was wrong, we x-rayed him, and it was there," Gold said. "There was no question involved, it was 'fix it.' You just go on, you don't think about those things. It would have been nice to have him for the (Florida) Sire Stakes, but we did pretty well in the Sire Stakes and now we have a fresh horse with a bright future."

Gold believes that Awesome Banner will be able to stretch out to two turns.

"Because of his demeanor, I don't think distance is going to be a problem," Gold said. "He's sprinting because we're training him to sprint and we're riding him to sprint, but he's never shown any problem to do what you want with. Certainly we're going to try to stretch him out.

"I think this was more impressive (than his debut) because (at) 4 1/2 furlongs sometimes horses run great and they never run back to it. The track record that he broke was broken the year before, and it's always at a time of year when the rain stopped, the track is dry, everything's fast, and everyone's running. It's hard to gauge with a 2-year-old, but the way they do it is more important than when you look up there at the clock. He did it so effortlessly and came back and trained the same way and ran back to it."

Awesome Banner, the 6-5 favorite, returned $4.60, $3.40, and $2.60 across the board. Noholdingback Bear held second, paying $3.80 to place and $2.60 to show. Second-choice Sheikh of Sheikhs rallied steadily to finish third, paying $2.60 to show. Noholdingback Bear closed out the 2014 season with a runner-up finish in the Juvenile Dirt Stakes on the Breeders' Cup Saturday undercard at Keeneland, a race won by Sheikh of Sheikhs.

Awesome Banner is the first stakes winner for Miranda Stands, who has produced four winners from as many starters, including stakes-placed Standard Deal.