Country Grammer beats San Antonio with power

In partnership with Frankie Dettori, who guided him through the mild difficulty at this year’s G1 Dubai World Cup, COUNTRY GRAMMAR (h, 5, tone artist–Arabic Song, by Forestry) picked up the pace and asserted its supremacy during a time that won the GII San Antonio S. Monday in Santa Anita. Drawn the widest of the six-man field, the bay hurries away from it and races at its original pace, but has no choice but to go four-man wide into the fork of the clubhouse, with those like Hopkins (Quality Sugar) and Stilleto Boy (Shackleford) also show pace from lower draws. Trapped at a depth of four on the backseat, the Country Grammer was allowed easy access into the closer third as Dettori looked ready to take advantage of his mount’s considerable stamina. The Italian, who recently announced that 2023 will be his last time in the saddle, had a confident look below his right armpit at 3/8 and was dealt with forcefully in 1/4 column. He ended the race from there with a surprising burst and continued to complete his mission across the line. Sales history: $60,000 Ylg ’18 KEESEP; $450,000 2yo ’19 OBSAPR; $110,000 HRA ’21 KEEJAN. Purebred O-Commonwealth, WinStar Farm LLC & Zedan Racing Stables Inc; B-Scott & Debbie Pierce (KY); T-Bob Baffert.

Not a subscriber? Click here to subscribe to PDF or daily alerts.

This story was posted in News is shared and tagged Bob Baffert, national grammar, Frankie Dettori, Race, San Antonio S., Santa Anita.