Departing Zeroes In on $2M Earnings Mark

Claiborne Farm’s 6-year-old War Front   gelding Departing moved closer to the $2 million mark in career earnings when he captured the $102,800 Michael Schaefer Memorial Stakes July 16 at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino.

The first win in more than a year for Departing came in his first start for trainer Tom Drury Jr., who took over from Al Stall Jr. in May. Departing, ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., won the Schaefer, at one mile and 70 yards, by two lengths over the Stall-trained Rocket Time in 1:40.96 on a track rated fast.

"I just tried to stay out of his way," Drury said after the race. "He had made $1.8 million without me. He seemed like he was doing well going into the race. First time you run one, you’re always afraid you're going to miss something or maybe not notice something. He showed up and ran his race.

"He got a nice confidence-builder today. Hopefully it’s something we can move forward off of. And, words can’t describe (winning a stakes for Claiborne). You grow up in this business and you’re always reading about Claiborne. It’s just unbelievable. To be able to win a stakes with (Departing) is pretty special."

Departing, bred in Kentucky by Claiborne and Adele Dilschneider out of the Pulpit mare Leave, is now based at Skylight Training Center near Louisville, Ky. The Schaefer win pushed his earnings to $1,928,229 on a record of nine wins—six of them stakes—five seconds, and four thirds in 26 starts.