Powerhouse Cigar Performance from Private Zone

Private Zone powered to a dominant victory in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile Handicap on Saturday at Aqueduct. (Photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
Private Zone confirmed his status as one of the top sprinters in the country when he won the Vosburgh Invitational Stakes in September at Belmont Park and then finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. On Saturday at Aqueduct, he proved he’s a damn good miler, too.
The 5-year-old Macho Uno gelding streaked right to the front in the $753,750 Cigar Mile Handicap, set a swift pace under Martin Pedroza and left the opposition reeling in his wake in a powerhouse 5-length romp.
“He was great,” winning trainer Alfredo Velazquez said. “That was the way I was expecting him to run because he was training super.”
On a track that was extremely kind to pacesetters and to horses on the rail, Private Zone enjoyed the best of both worlds when he quickly sprinted clear from the inside post. He blitzed through an opening quarter in :22.18 and a half-mile :44.18 but looked extremely comfortable doing so under Pedroza while Breeders’ Cup winners Regally Ready (Turf Sprint, 2011) and Secret Circle (Sprint, 2013; Juvenile Sprint, 2011) raced in second and third, respectively, in the 9-horse field.
“The fractions didn't bother me because he was doing it easy. When I saw :44 [for the half-mile], I said, ‘They're going to have to come and get him.’ ” Velazquez said. “[The break] was very important because of the track. Everything inside today was running.”
Private Zone opened up a 2-length advantage with a quarter-mile remaining and steadily increased his lead in the stretch. He completed the mile in 1:34.39 for his third career Grade 1 win for owner Good Friends Stable, a partnership managed by paralyzed former rider Rene Douglas. He improved to seven wins, seven seconds and two thirds in 25 career starts and boosted his bankroll to $1,521,820.
Pedroza said the key to the good start was asking Private Zone to expend a little more while warming up before the race.
“I was able to get all the speed at once at the break. It was cold, I actually only jogged this horse and even in the Breeders' Cup I only jogged him,” Pedroza said. “Today, I wanted him to run warm because it’s cold. It was cold for the horse, it was cold for jockeys.”
Secret Circle held off a late bid from Bourbon Courage for second.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
PRIVATE ZONE

Photo by Eclipse Sportswire