A Thread of Blue Wins Palm Beach Stakes at Gulfstream

When Mike Ryan advised owner Leonard Green to a buy a son of Hard Spun  at the 2018 Ocala Breeders' Sales March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, it was the colt's classic pedigree that intrigued the bloodstock agent.

So Green paid $430,000 for A Thread of Blue, and, as it turns out, there just might be a Triple Crown and a May 4 race at Churchill Downs in the 3-year-old's future.

But it's the New York Racing Association's new Turf Triple Crown and the $400,000 American Turf Stakes Presented by Ram Trucks (G2T) that loom prominently on A Thread of Blue's itinerary.

Green's Ocala purchase posted a third straight win, all on turf, as he registered a three-quarter-length victory over Casa Creed in the $150,000 Palm Beach Stakes (G3T), the first of nine graded stakes on the March 2 card at Gulfstream Park.

"Mike Ryan picked him out because of his classic pedigree, and he kept saying, 'Wait until he gets on dirt,' but I think we'll leave him on the grass for now," Green said.

A Thread of Blue finished a well-beaten sixth on dirt in his debut at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 11 and eventually posted his maiden win on the main track in an Oct. 7 race at Belmont Park that was washed off the turf in his third start.

Turf, however, has brought out the best in a colt out of the Seeking the Gold mare Enthused. He finished second in a maiden race on grass prior to his first win and then ran third in the Awad Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack Nov. 4.

Shipped to Gulfstream, A Thread of Blue blossomed. He won a Dec. 22 allowance race and the Feb. 3 Dania Beach Stakes before posting his initial graded stakes win for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin in the Palm Beach.

"Kiaran knows how to train a good horse, eh?" Green said.

A Thread of Blue was a frontrunning winner of his first two starts in Florida but showed a beneficial ability to be rated in the 1 1/16-mile Palm Beach. He was in third after an opening half-mile in :47.99, behind King Ottokar (who finished fifth) and 136-1 shot Hard Belle (last of eight), then launched a three-wide bid for the lead approaching the quarter pole and fended off 6-1 third choice Casa Creed in the final furlong.

"I was glad he sat nicely in third and had plenty left for the finish because we will be going longer with him," said McLaughlin, who listed the American Turf and then the $1 million Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) July 6, the 1 1/4-mile opening leg of NYRA's Turf Trinity, as the next two objectives for A Thread of Blue. "We have to put the brakes on after running every four weeks, so we'll wait for (the American Turf).

"We tried him on dirt and he broke his maiden on dirt, but he really loves turf and is a good 3-year-old who seems to be getting better. He's got a great mind, and we're very happy to have a nice horse. It makes our job easier."

Bred in Kentucky by Flaxman Holdings Limited, A Thread of Blue covered the distance in 1:41.93 under jockey Luis Saez. The 1-2 favorite won for the fourth time in seven starts and pushed his earnings to $241,590.

Later on the card, Cambier Parc continued to look like a million dollars—plus an extra $250,000—since switching to turf.

Bought for $1.25 million at the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale by Larry Best of OXO Equine, the daughter of Medaglia d'Oro  was a modest fourth in her career debut Nov. 3 over a muddy racetrack at Aqueduct.

"She breezed really well (on dirt), and we have a healthy number of fillies in this category," said trainer Chad Brown, "and our first preference if we have an Oaks horse is a Kentucky Oaks (G1) horse."

Of course, the $750,000 Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1) isn't a bad fallback position.

Cambier Parc made it 2-for-2 on turf as she jumped from a maiden winner to a graded stakes winner in just her third start, posting a three-quarter-length victory in the $150,000 Herecomesthebride Stakes (G3T) for 3-year-old fillies.

"This is a big deal," Best said. "We didn't like her first race. It was probably a scratch type of race. Chad didn't think she was a turf filly, but he tried it, she liked it, and, so far, this was the right decision. In Chad we trust."

The Herecomesthebride came on the heels of a Jan. 2 maiden special weight on the turf at Gulfstream, where Cambier Parc rolled to a four-length victory in her second start.

Her victory in the Herecomesthebride, when she pressed the pace from second and increased her lead slightly in the stretch, also illustrated that longer distance will be in her future.

"I thought she was a mile-and-an-eighth or a mile-and-a-quarter horse," Brown said. "So I am impressed, not so much surprised, that she has been able to get her career started like this, at distances that might be a tick short for her."

Brown said the 1 1/4-mile Belmont Oaks, the July 6 opening leg of NYRA's Turf Tiara series, is the long-term goal for the filly. He said the $200,000 Wonder Again Stakes (G3T) was a "logical" step in that direction but was uncertain whether she will race again before the June 6 race at Belmont.

Cambier Parc, out of 2007 Canadian Horse of the Year Seely Hill by Point Given, was bred at Bonne Chance Farm in Kentucky. The 4-5 favorite covered the distance in 1:42.03 under jockey Jose Ortiz. Princesa Carolina finished second, a half-length ahead of Belle Laura.

Video: Palm Beach S. (G3T)

Video: Herecomesthebride S. (G3T)