Nikki’s Sandcastle’s gutsy comeback-from-behind run enough to seal El Prado
Richard Sherman homebred 5-year-old gelding, Nikki’s Sandcastle, against a massive field of 13 showed a gutsy run to come back from behind to win the $75,000 El Prado Stakes over Gulfstream Park’s turf course on 22 December, 2012.
David C. Kassen trained runner made it to the wire just in time to nick the 17 to 1 shot, Kharafa, off victory, as he went on to defeat the runner-up by three quarters of a length.
Ridden by jockey Corey Lanerie, the pair was tipped off to do well in the El Prado Stakes, and was the tepid morning line choice, but the far outside draw saw the duo leave the field at 5 to 1, and despite circling very wide nearing the final bend, Nikki’s Sandcastle, showed enough hunger in the stretch to overhaul the leaders and post his second consecutive victory of the month.
"We were really serious about scratching because of that," said Kassen. "We had another race down the road in Texas we're kind of planning for, so I said, 'This will be just a good prep for it even if we don't win.' Rather than having to do a lot of training I'd just as soon run him. So it worked out good."
"About halfway through the first turn I looked over my shoulder and saw about five or six of them and realized the plan wasn't going to work, so I started to ease him back," Lanerie said.
The Kentucky bred son of Castledale, Nikki’s Sandcastle on 1 December, 2012, won the Claiming Crown Emerald also over Gulfstream Park’s turf course. Running over a distance of 1 1/16 miles, Nikki’s Sandcastle defeated Major Marvel in second and Exclusive Strike in third.
He went on to cover the 1 1/16 mile distance in 1 minute and 43.13 seconds.
Out of Sandpit mare Sandtina, Nikki’s Sandcastle has had a pretty good 2012, and with a lone blemish in the Grade 3 Arlington Handicap, where he finished seventh, the gelding in all his nine starts this season hasn’t finished worse than third.
Especially, at the backend of the season, Nikki’s Sandcastle finished second to winner Suntracer in the Robert F Carey Memorial, and then defeated Take Charge Indy in third to finish second to Newsdad in the Grade 2 Fayette Stakes.
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