Daddy Nose Best nosed out Lucky Chappy to win the El Camino Real Derby
Steven Asmussen trained, Daddy Nose Best, was making his 3-year-old debut in the Grade 3, $200,000 El Camino Real Derby after an extremely busy juvenile season, where he couldn’t make much of an impact, notching 2 wins out of eight, but his sophomore season
has begun on a high winning the most prestigious race in Golden Gate Field by a nose.
The French native, Julien Leparoux, was aboard the Kentucky bred son of Scat Daddy, out of mare Follow Your Bliss by Thunder Gulch, as the colt was hustled early by his jockey to take a good spot in a field of 10 horses, and then settled on the inside.
Owned by Cathy and Robert Zollars, Daddy Nose Best from the inside started tracking leaders, and by the second turn the 3-year-old had a little dilemma whether to go all out or wait for the cue from one of the leader’s.
The block was brief, and as the field cleared, Daddy Nose Best went all out at the quarter pole to split Lady Of Fifty and All Squared Away coming into the stretch.
Lucky Chappy was the next target, and the only option for the pair was an all-out duel as Daddy Nose Best gained command at second position and from there challenged the leader, met a strong bid from Lucky Chappy, but out finished the challenger by a nostril.
It was a pulsating finish to the 1 1/8 mile test for 3-year-old’s, as Daddy Nose Best handed conditioner Steven Asmussen his second victory in the El Camino Real Derby for the second year running, who won it last year with Silver Medallion.
"We came here because of the added distance and his experience on turf which carries over to synthetic," said Darren Fleming, assistant to Asmussen. "Winning the race last year with Silver Medallion helped our decision."
This was Daddy Nose Best’s first stakes win, who has a maiden special weight race and an allowance race to his credit.
As a juvenile he participated in the Grade 3 Summer Stakes, and managed a placed finish to winner Finale, and then finished sixth in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.
Tags: