HALLANDALE BEACH, FL — Coinage, blocked behind a wall of three horses, had nowhere to go turning into the top of the stretch. But once he found room, he kicked home a winner in the $125,000 Palm Beach Stakes Saturday at Gulfstream Park, out-dueling Main Event in a lengthy stretch battle.
The 3-year-old Tapit colt notched a neck victory over Main Event, with early pacesetter Bueno Bueno holding on for third. Red Danger, the 9-5 favorite, finished fourth.
Ridden by Luis Saez for trainer Mark Casse, Coinage registered his third lifetime victory and has never finished worse than third in seven career starts.
The win in Saturday’s one-mile turf event was the colt’s second in stakes company. He also won the With Anticipation (G3) at Saratoga in September for owners Chester Broman Sr, Mary Broman, and D.J. Stable LLC.
Nick Tomlinson, Assistant to Winning Trainer Mark Casse (Coinage): “We thought that he was sitting on a big race. In his last race, he just may not have been tight enough. We actually thought he might go to the lead, but he didn’t break well. Luis [Saez] did a great job getting him to relax and when he asked him, he was there for him.”
Winning jockey Luis Saez (Coinage): “It was not the plan. The plan was to go to the lead but everything changed when the gates opened. He relaxed pretty good and he made a big move at the three-eighths pole, top of the stretch. He’s pretty game. He wanted to get there first. We were just waiting for room, and as soon as he gave me that kick I was just riding him because he was running pretty good. I’m pretty happy the way he ran today.”
Gulfstream Park Press Release
Photo: Coinage, (NYRA Photo)
