Drill is bound for one turn races after his win in the Laz Barrera Stakes
The 3-year-old Bob Baffert trained colt, Drill, nailed American Act for the Grade 3, $98,000 Laz Barrera Stakes at Hollywood Park on 12 May, 2012, over the venue’s cushion track.
It will not be wrong to say that Michael E. Pegram’s Drill will no longer race over 2 turns, after landing his third sprint of his career.
Trained by Bob Baffert, Drill has gone on to race at sprints, in other words, one turn race, he has been successful four times out of six starts, and he has been tried over two turn races for six times, and the best he has done out of all these starts, is to finish second in the Grade 1 Norfolk Stakes to Creative Cause, back as a juvenile.
Martin Garcia was aboard the colt in the Laz Barrera Stakes, and it was said prior to the race that American Act will run Drill ragged, but it was the other way around when it started at Hollywood Park.
It was a ground saving trip that served the colt well, as he is finding his game in one turn races, and resurfacing his ability to close down runners in short distances.
American Act swiftly broke and carved early fractions of 23.52 seconds for the quarter mile and 46.92 seconds for the half mile marker.
It was an ideal trip by Drill, as he rounded off the bend, Martin Garcia went right in between American Art and Gun Boat – which gave Drill the room to reel down American Act that he did at the sixteenth pole and downed the seven furlong race by half a length with the winning time of 1 minute and 22.88 seconds.
“We wanted to let him break and be comfortable,” Garcia said. “He put himself in a good position. When they turned for home, it opened up and I got through.”
Bob Baffert is now aiming at one turn races, and already he has a race for Drill. The $400,000 Woody Stephens Stakes will be next for Drill on 9 June.
“The Woody Stephens is the next logical race, but we’ll play it by ear,” Baffert said.
He emphasized that Drill’s next start “will be a one-turn race.”
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