Eamonn (outside) victorious by a nose in the Silks Run (Coglianese)
David Joseph/Gulfstream Park
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Robert Cotran’s Grade 2-placed stakes winner Eamonn, making his 39th career start and first in 4 ½ months, came with a relentless run down the center of the track and got his nose down on the wire to beat Reef Runner in Saturday’s $115,000 Silks Run at Gulfstream Park.
The 11th running of the Silks Run, a five-furlong turf dash for 4-year-olds and up, was followed later on the program by the $165,000 Hurricane Bertie (G3) for older fillies and mares sprinting 6 ½ furlongs on the main track.
Ridden by Edgard Zayas for trainer Joe Orseno, the 7-year-old Eamonn ($22.60) completed the distance in 55.58 seconds over a firm turf course as the longest shot on the board at 10-1 in a field of six following the early scratch of even-money program favorite and defending champion Coppola.
“He’s a good, fresh horse,” Orseno said. “He was really about two works away from where I really wanted him to be, but it was coming up a short race so we figured why not take a shot. I called Mr. Cotran and said we were going to work him five-eighths [this] week anyway, we might as well run him. He’s pretty game. And the way the race shaped up with Coppola scratched, I thought he’d have a big shot.”
Souper Quest, favored at 9-5, was hustled to the front by jockey Emisael Jaramillo and ran an opening quarter-mile in 21.95 seconds with 45-1 longshot Foxtrotanna leading the second flight along the rail with Reef Runner on the outside and Capture the Lion between horses.
Reef Runner wrested a short lead from Souper Quest once straightened for home after going a half in 43.75 seconds, but Eamonn was just gearing up on the far outside to make his run. Closing with every stride, the Pioneerof the Nile horse won a head bob from a determined Reef Runner, the Dave Fawkes trainee who was coming back 15 days after running fourth in the Turf Dash at Tampa Bay Downs.
“I knew he was going to drop back and going into the turn I told Robert, ‘He’s just starting to run.’ I didn’t know if he could get up or not, but he was coming. Dave Fawkes is a buddy of mine and his horse is a very good horse. He just ran two weeks ago, and I said if he can run him down he’s going to try, and he ran him down at the wire,” Orseno said. “I saw the bob and just at the wire I wasn’t sure. We got beat a tough one the other day with Portofino in a bob like that, so this is payback.”
Biz Biz Buzz, running first off the claim and coming back in eight days, finished third followed by Souper Quest, Capture the Lion and Foxtrotanna. Coppola, a 10-time winner including five stakes victories, was scratched after needing treatment for a cut above his eye.
“He warmed up good to help him out of there,” Zayas said. “He broke good, actually, but after that they got away from him. I dropped down on the rail and put my hands down and let him settle for a little bit. At the eighth pole I started asking him like he was working three-eighths and he kicked on really nice.”
