Bricks and Mortar Wins Duel to Wire in Muniz Memorial
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Photo: Hodges Photography / Amanda Hodges Weir
Bricks and Mortar (outside) duels with Markitoff to the wire in the Muniz Memorial Handicap at Fair Grounds Race Course
It all came down to the bob of a head for Bricks and Mortar and Markitoff March 23 in one of the most memorable runnings of the $300,000 Muniz Memorial Handicap (G2T) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
When the photo was reviewed and the stewards made their final call, victory fell the way of Bricks and Mortar by a nose.
Things started out predictably enough. Favored Bricks and Mortar—winner of the inaugural running of the Jan. 26 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes (G1T) last out—broke first under Irad Ortiz Jr. who brought the dark bay under command quickly, running five wide from the rail in second.
Establishing a quick 1 1/2-length lead from the break, 62-1 shot Markitoff set a relatively modest pace just off the rail and led the field through fractions of :24.82, :51.07, and 1:15.28 for six furlongs.
Angled in three wide on the first turn, Bricks and Mortar stalked the pace and continued to drift toward the inside. At the top of the stretch, the son of Giant's Causeway had control of the field by a head and was fighting hard to hold off Markitoff, who showed no signs of giving up.
Set down for a drive by jockey Tyler Gaffalione, Markitoff continued to duel as the pair approached the finish. The two made brief contact in the final sixteenth but did not slow their pace. Bricks and Mortar was declared the winner in a photo finish. Final time for the 1 1/8 mile test was 1:50.44 over turf rated firm.
"I was very impressed with Bricks and Mortar's ability to adapt to a very slow pace and also concede significant weight to the rest of the field and still prevail," said trainer Chad Brown.
Now 2-for-2 in 2019, Bricks and Mortar improved his record to 7-0-2 record from nine starts, with earnings of $3,198,250.
Last-out Fair Grounds Handicap (G3T) winner Synchrony finished third, 1 3/4 lengths behind Markitoff. Trainer Michael Stidham said his 6-year-old son of Tapit did not get good enough hold of the surface in order to be in contention for the win.
"(Jockey) Joe (Bravo) just said the turf is a little bit sandy and he didn't get a real good hold of it early," Stidham explained. "He just got behind a slow pace. … It was just a bad trip."
Divisidero, Hot Springs, and Inspector Lynley completed the order of finish. Bandua, First Premio, Final Copy, and Silver Dust were scratched. Bandua (fourth) and Silver Dust (second) ran in the New Orleans Handicap (G2).
Owned by Klaravich Stables and William H. Lawrence, Bricks and Mortar was bred in Kentucky by George Strawbridge Jr. out of the Ocean Crest mare Beyond the Waves. He was a $200,000 purchase by Oaks Bluff Partners from Stone Farm's consignment to the 2015 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.