Flavien Prat sent Ole Crazy Bone to the lead, and the 6-year-old dug in along the inside to repel a determined Fort George and win the Grade 2 Bowling Green by a nose. (Barbara D. Livingston)
Mary Eddy
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Flying P Stable’s Ole Crazy Bone set the pace and narrowly repelled the challenge from Fort George to win Saturday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Bowling Green presented by Emerald Ecovations, a 1 3/8-mile inner turf route for older horses, at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by Mike Maker and piloted by Flavien Prat, the 6-year-old gelded son of Ghostzapper was claimed by his current connections for $100,000 out of a neck second in an off-the-turf optional claimer last June at Churchill Downs. He hit the board in seven of his last eight attempts leading up to the Bowling Green, including a victory in the Grade 2 Kentucky Turf Cup Invitational in September at Kentucky Downs in his second start off the claim. He did not race again until a last-out second to multiple graded stakes-winner Dresden Row in a 1 1/16-mile optional claimer on May 21 at Churchill Downs.
Maker said he is proud of what Ole Crazy Bone has accomplished since recovering from a knee chip that knocked him out of the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf last fall.
“What he’s gone through with his injury to come back I think equally as good as he was last year, very impressive,” Maker said. “We were looking for horses for Kentucky Downs, and he looked like a horse that would appreciate more ground. That [last race] was more of a ‘get a race into him.’ He ran a winning race, not an optimal distance, but the horse who beat him [Dresden Row] was a good horse and it was a deep, competitive field.”
Ole Crazy Bone broke alertly from the inside post in the field of six, and was alone on the lead briefly before Kieran Shoemark asked Fort George to keep up and stalk a close second through splits of 24.62 seconds, 49.54 and 1:15.22 over the firm footing with a gap back to Soleil Volant in third.
Fort George was asked for more to the outside passing the mile marker in 1:39.98 and Prat coaxed his charge exiting the final of three turns. Fort George matched their strides at the head of the lane, but a determined Ole Crazy Bone dug in along the inside and willed himself clear again passing the eighth pole with right-handed encouragement from Prat.
Minaret Station launched his bid after tracking in fifth early and steadily made up ground down the center of the course, but the main threat was Fort George in the last sixteenth as he bore down on the all-out pacesetter. Fort George made one last surge at the wire, but Ole Crazy Bone had just enough left to get his nose down first in a final time of 2:14.18 with Minaret Station landing another half-length back in third.
The top three were followed home by Desvio, Carson’s Run and Soleil Volant. Carcano was scratched, along with main track-only entrants Yo Daddy, Kinetic and Dr. Kraft.
Prat said he was pleased with Ole Crazy Bone’s will to win.
“He was running very well in front,” said Prat, who won his fourth race of the day. “I thought the pace was good. We kind of picked it up early around the turn, I was able to get away from him [Fort George] turning for home and he came back late. My horse was there for me.”
The win was meaningful for Flying P’s Jay Provenzano, who stood in the winner’s circle with his new service dog, a Boston terrier named Clyde.
“The only thing I miss after today is I lost my mother [Suzanne] a couple months ago and she would be my first call right now,” he said. “I know she was definitely watching at the wire and got me there.”
Provenzano praised the sharp eye of Maker, who also claimed subsequent graded stakes-placed Amber Cascade for Flying P. The ownership also found graded success with Lone Rock, who was haltered for $40,000 by trainer Robertino Diodoro and went on to win a pair of graded marathons.
“Mike spotted him for the $2.5 million race at Kentucky Downs [Turf Cup] and he showed him what he could do,” Provenzano said. “We got the “Win and You’re In” [to the Breeders’ Cup Turf] and to claim a horse and get an automatic berth is something special. He put in his second-to-last piece of work and we were to fly out there and he came back just a little off and all our dreams were shot all at once. I put my big boy pants on every day in this game – he’s one of the successful claims like Amber Cascade or Lone Rock, but there’s so many of the rough claims. We put him on the shelf and Mike’s first call to me was to say, ‘the horse we had was even better.’”
Maker added he plans to point Ole Crazy Bone to a title defense in the Grade 2, $2 million Kentucky Downs Turf Cup Invitational on September 5.
Ed Walker, trainer of Group 3-winner Fort George, said he was satisfied with the ride from Shoemark.
“We knew that horse would go forward and I think Kieran did exactly the right thing, he pressed him enough and then decided to take out,” Walker said. “I think that was the right thing to do. Prat just slowed it up a bit too much – Prat gave it a very good ride and Kieran gave a very good ride. We had to make up ground around the outside and we had to go the long way around compared to the winner. No complaints.”
Walker added that the effort was strong enough to continue on to the local 12-furlong Grade 1, $750,000 Christophe Clement on August 15, offering a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf in October at Keeneland
“Definitely,” he said. “The plan is to stick around. He’ll stay there now for the next two months. I think the extra furlong in the Christophe Clement will suit him as well.”
Bred in Kentucky by Adena Springs, Ole Crazy Bone improved his record to 21-8-6-2 and banked $137,500 in victory while returning $4.80 on a $2 win ticket as the 7-5 post-time favorite. He now boasts $1,926,354 in total purse earnings.
Live racing resumes Sunday at Saratoga with a nine-race card. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.
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