Coil defeats all experienced 3-year-olds to hand Bob Baffert his fifth Haskell Invitational win at Monmouth Park
The most inexperienced 3-year-old horse in the race, Coil, with jockey Martin Garcia dished out one of the most scintillating performances at Monmouth Park in the heavily pursed $1million Haskell Invitational on 31 July.
Trainer Bob Baffert back in 2001, won the Haskell Invitational with Coil’s father, Point Given and, since then he has topped all trainers who have run their horses in the race by five wins in total, the most by any trainer in the Haskell Invitational.
For owners Michael Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman, this result was also a repeat victory, winning the race back in 2010 with Lookin at Lucky, with same jockey and trainer.
It was first time on dirt for the lightly raced colt, and it was refreshing for Coil and his connections after his hard luck loss in the Grade 2 Swaps run at Hollywood Park on 9 July, 2011.
In the 1 1/8 mile event, run over synthetic surface Coil pulled a hard race, but eventually got caught at the wire by ever so persistent Dreamy Kid, who defeated the colt by a mere head.
This time around at Monmouth Park, Coil under Martin Garcia was expected to shoot right into the front of the eight horses and try to do what he did in the previous race.
The 3-year-old Point Given’s colt did not break well and sank the hearts of his connections quite early in the race.
It seemed as if he was allowed by jockey Martin Garcia to fall back at the rear and, that he did.
Tracked leaders throughout the race as Kelly Breen’s duo Ruler on Ice, the Belmont Stakes winner and Pants on Fire, the Pegasus Stakes winner and the Preakness Stakes winner Dale Romans colt Shackleford rallied hard to cross the wire.
Coil out of Eversmile by Theatrical, gradually progressed on the field and started making some meaningful strides towards the leaders.
Right on the turn five wide, Coil rallied hard up the backstretch and reached contention with other horses and looked more in the race then before.
It was down to the stretch, with the three favourites dug in for the drive and Coil right behind them. It was shaping out to be a great race with an even greater climax expected. Coil got on the outside and with a furlong out, Garcia drove the colt with
optimum speed to come in line with Shackleford.
The duo rallied hard, but Coil had enough in his tank to come back from behind and won the race by a neck. The final strides proved to be the difference for Coil, with the final time if 1 minutes and 48.20 seconds on a fast track.
Coil got an automatic berth in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic after the Haskell win. With a bobbled break, Coil gave Bob Baffert his fifth Haskell win, Shackleford finished second and Ruler on Ice third.
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