BASHFORD MANOR S.$173,000, Churchill Downs, 7-4, 2yo, 6f, 1:09.25, ft.
first-GULFPORT, 120, c, 2, by Uncle Mo
First Beat: Fame and Fortune, by Song of the Unbridled
2nd dam: Stop Traffic, by Cure the Blues
Strike 3: Save My Soul, by Ima Hell Raiser
‘Rising star TDN’ ($275,000 Ylg ’21 FTKJUL). TYPE 1 BLACK
VICTORY. CV. William & Corinne Heiligbrodt, Jackpot Farm &
Whisper Oaks Farm LLC; B-Diamond Creek Farm (KY);
T-Steven M. Asmussen; J-Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.
107,070 dollars. Lifetime record: 2-2-0-0, $176,530. * 1/2 to support
(Pioneerof the Nile), GSP, $116,500.
2-Owen’s Leap120, c, 2, Bolt d’Oro – Defy Gravity, by Bandini.
($175,000 Ylg ’21 KEESEP). TYPE 1 BLACK. O-Michael
McLoughlin; B-Clearsky Farms (KY); T-Thomas M. Amoss.
$34,700.
3–And the winner is120, c, 2, Oscar Performance–Run Like the
Boss, by Scat Daddy. ($67,000 RNA Ylg ’21 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK
TYPE. O/B-Susan Moulton (KY); T-Wayne M. Catalano.
$17,350.
Margin: 12 1/4, NO, 6 3/4. Odds: 0.20, 7.90, 7.10.
Also Ran: Simply Super, Stayhonor Goodside, Mr. Gordy.
‘TDN’s Rising Star’ Gulfport showed on Monday that he really is as brilliant as his seven-match debut came on June 10, with the win of 83 Beyer Speed Figure, as he dominated Churchill’s Bashford Manor S. by an overwhelming score of 1-5.
Bidding to add to Hall of Fame coach Steve Asmussen’s record of six wins (now three in the past five years) in this early-season minors focus, the bay broke the barrier at the top and was quickly erased. Doing the splits: 21.65 and :45.07 with a nasty pursuer in front, he opened the door quickly when set down at the top of the lane and increased the score by more than a dozen seconds. Owen’s Leap overtook Andthewinneris for second. Gulfport’s final time of 1:09.25 is the second fastest in Bashford Manor’s 121-year history behind only the future Asmussen-trained MGISW Kodiak Kowboy (1:09.15 in 2007). Asmussen also won the Churchill spring practice title with the win.
“We are so grateful that all of our owners have horses like Gulfport. He was incredibly talented from the very beginning and showed us a lot of possibilities,” Asmussen said. “Today, when he went off the rails, Brian put him in perfect position on the lead and he never looked back.”
“I think it’s something very special,” Hernandez added. “He really did all that on his own. I let him slam into the tracks and he brought me right in front. It is extremely impressive. He’s a really nice pony and made things easy today.”
As a half-sister to the GII Twinspires.com Fair Grounds Oaks the Third Favor this season, Gulfport is not a half-sister to the excellent GISW Cross Trafic, while the second Stop Traffic is MGISW. Most recently sold to Gainesway Farm for $320,000 this year at Keeneland January, Fame and Fortune has an aspiring sister to the winner and was bred to be Tapit for the year 2023. Click to view Equibase.com chart or VIDEO sponsored by TVG.
