Fear the Cowboy Takes Skip Away in Late Drive

Kathleen Amaya and Raffaele Centrofanti's Fear the Cowboy pulled a mild upset when he ran by even-money favorite Zulu and frontrunner Flashy Jewel in the stretch to win the $100,000 Skip Away Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park March 25. 

The three-length win under jockey Jesus Rios was the multiple stakes winner's first graded attempt in 20 starts. 

"It went as we expected. I took the horse back and followed the speed and he finished strong," Rios said. "That was the plan and it went perfectly. I was sure (I would get there) because the leader was declining and I had a lot of horse. My horse is a warrior. I am very happy to win a grade 3."

In the 1 1/8 mile test for older horses over a fast main track, Flashy Jewel and jockey Joe Bravo broke well and went out to take the lead. Zulu and 2-1 second choice Team Colors tracked closely behind in second and third, as Fear the Cowboy settled second to last in the six-horse field, just ahead of longshot Joshua's Comprise. 

Through the first six furlongs, Flashy Jewel maintained a comfortable lead, setting fractions of :23.98, :48.02, and 1:12.52. Team Colors and Zulu continued to battle back and forth for second, after a attempt from jockey Jose Ortiz with Zulu to go to the inside around Flashy Jewel failed. 

At the top of the stretch, Flashy Jewel still had the lead, as a mile went in 1:38.29, but his stride was shortening, Team Colors and Zulu were all out chasing the frontrunner. Rios, who moved his mount four wide in the turn for home, asked Fear the Cowboy to continue and the bay son of Cowboy Cal put away his rivals to hit the wire in a final time of 1:51.81 to earn the first graded stakes victory for his trainer, Efren Loza Jr.

Zulu got a neck in front of Flashy Jewel for second. Hy Riverside, Team Colors, and Joshua's Comprise rounded out the order of finish. 

Sent off as the 7-2 third choice, Fear the Cowboy returned $9.20, $3.60, and $2.60 across the board. 

"We made the decision to come back to Gulfstream because the horse has run before here," Loza said. "He loves this track. We really liked the distance, one mile and an eighth. We decided to bring him back to Gulfstream because the owners are from Florida and I'm from Florida. This is my first graded race [victory].

 

"He runs every time and runs so hard. He runs one mile, one mile and a sixteenth, one mile and an eighth. He is a horse I ship to different racetracks and he always does good. He has heart."

Bred by the University of Kentucky, Fear the Cowboy was purchased for $1,500 by Alexandro Centofanti as a short yearling at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky February mixed sale. He was a $145,000 RNA at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton Summer horses of racing age sale. 

The 5-year-old horse now boasts a 7-5-1 record from 20 starts, with earnings of $330,319. He entered Saturday's race off a runner-up effort in the Maxxam Gold Cup Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park Feb. 25. Last year, he won the Evangeline Mile Stakes, and in 2015 he took the Three Chopt Road Stakes at Gulfstream.