Patient Ride Helps Si Que Es Buena Land La Prevoyante
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Photo: Coglianese Photos/Zoe Metz
Si Que Es Buena wins the La Prevoyante Stakes at Gulfstream Park
Sometimes it's the little things that can make the difference.
For jockey Chris Landeros, the patience of waiting a few strides before he made his move aboard Takaya Shimakawa's Si Que Es Buena may have landed the win in the $200,000 La Prevoyante Stakes (G3T) Jan. 26 at Gulfstream Park.
As Tricky Escape, Semper Sententiae, and favored Santa Monica made their moves early in the final turn of the 1 1/2-mile grass test, Landeros waited a beat longer. With three targets still ahead of her as she turned for home, Si Que Es Buena surged wide as Tricky Escape and Semper Sententiae faded.
Santa Monica hung around longer but could not hold off the Argentine-bred Graham Motion trainee who finished one length ahead to secure her first graded stakes victory. Si Que Es Buena wrapped up the distance in 2:34.04 over the yielding Gulfstream turf, and Santa Monica came in 1 1/2 lengths clear of Semper Sententiae.
"What a great ride," Motion said. "Gosh, he's riding good, this kid. I really hadn't (used) him until he came to Gulfstream. He rode her very patiently."
A group 3 winner in Peru, Si Que Es Buena finished fourth in her first U.S. outing and first start for Motion, the Nov. 24 Long Island Stakes (G3T) at Aqueduct Racetrack. In her next start and first try at Gulfstream in the Dec. 29 Via Borghese Stakes, she prevailed by a neck over Holy Helena, who finished sixth in the La Prevoyante.
"She's (a) pretty cool, very game mare," Landeros said. "I think she's just getting better with the extra distance, and Graham had her primed and ready as always. I'm just blessed to be a part of her. I think the sky's the limit. Let's just see where we go."
Rahway went to the front from post 10 and set fractions of :24.24, :50.24, 1:16.09, and 1:42.99 through a mile. In 10th at that point, Si Que Es Buena trailed by 5 3/4 lengths.
Bred by Haras Abolengo out of the Mutakddim mare Epoca Buena, Si Que Es Buena now has seven wins from 15 starts and $212,570 in earnings.
Two races later in the $200,000 W. L. McKnight Stakes (G3T), also at 1 1/2 miles, Michael Hui's Zulu Alpha held off a late challenge from Mike Maker-trained stablemate Soglio to win by a half-length. It was the third consecutive win in the race for Maker, who became the first trainer in history to achieve a three-peat after taking the McKnight in 2017 with Taghleeb and in 2018 with Oscar Nominated.
A 6-year-old son of Street Cry, Zulu Alpha entered the McKnight following a seventh-place finish in the Dec. 15 Fort Lauderdale (G2T) at Gulfstream, but Maker said he can be forgiven his run in that race.
"The winner (Glorious Empire) was loose on the lead and the soft ground my horse didn't seem to care for," he said.
In the McKnight, Zulu Alpha and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. saved ground and were never far back off the pace set by All Go. After that one faded, Zulu Alpha split horses at the top of the stretch to take over, drove clear, and turned back the game late challenge of runner-up Soglio. The final time was 2:36.80 on yielding turf. Hunting Horn completed the trifecta 3 1/2 lengths back.
Bred in Kentucky by Calumet Farm out of the A.P. Indy mare Zori, Zulu Alpha improved his record to 7-3-4 from 22 starts, with earnings of $353,814.