Churchill Downs Press Release
LOUISVILLE, Ky.— Politicallycorrect, who broke his maiden on May 30 at Churchill Downs in gate-to-wire fashion, showed a new dimension Sunday when the young colt rallied from last with an eye-catching sweeping wide move to easily win the 123rd running of the $217,215 Bashford Manor (Listed) for 2-year-olds by five lengths over Smoken Wicked on closing day of the 43-day Spring Meet.
Politicallycorrect clocked six furlongs over a fast track in 1:10.56. Jose Ortiz rode the winner for Turfway Park-based trainer Chris Davis and owners Walmac Farm (Gary Broad), Five Fillies Stable LLC (Brett Setzer) and Ryan C. Ritt.
It was a contested early pace in the field of a dozen juveniles as California invader and 2-1 favorite Bodacious emerged on top with Enduring Spirit and Spiralizer chasing through an opening quarter mile in :21.41. Politicallycorrect was last as the field entered the turn and that’s when Ortiz dropped his hands to let the colt run. In a blitz, Politicallycorrect circled the field from the outside and left the turn in contention after a half mile in :45.97. He grabbed the lead at the three-sixteenths pole and proved his superiority in this last-to-first demolition job.
“He was a little unsettled in the gate and then broke pretty slowly,” Ortiz said. “After that I just tried to let him relax as much as he could down the backside. He really kicked powerfully home. I think showing his versatility at a young age is very important. He was on the pace last time and today he came from the back. The extra distance wasn’t a problem at all.”
Politicallycorrect’s triumph was worth $130,320 and increased his bankroll to $199,320 with a perfect record in two starts. His debut win came in a 4 ½-furlong maiden special weight that he won by 1 ¼ lengths while leading all the way.
“This horse has been training great over the Tapeta at Turfway and it really translated to the dirt,” Davis said. “Showing multiple dimensions as a young horse is so impressive. I told Jose that the way this horse is built that he should have no issues settling if he needs to. That’s what ended up happening and you can really tell that two-turns shouldn’t be a problem for him going forward.”
A $175,000 purchase at this year’s OBS March sale, Politicallycorrect is by Violence out of the Candy Ride (ARG) mare Heron Watch. He was bred in Kentucky by St. George Farm LLC.
Politicallycorrect returned $16.62, $9.68 and $6.88 as the 7-1 fourth betting choice. Smoken Wicked, under Brian Hernandez Jr. at 32-1, paid $22.98 and $11.62. It was another 3 ¾ lengths back to 6-1 Ivan the Great in third, who paid $5.70 to show under Antonio Fresu.
Mo Hair Sam, Conquering Cat, Bodacious, Spiralizer, War Tax, Enduring Spirit, Moneyline, Happyflyer and 7-2 second betting choice Heat completed the order of finish. Vinegar Hill was scratched.
First run in 1902, the Bashford Manor is named for the former Louisville Thoroughbred breeding and racing farm that dominated the American racing scene in the early 1900s. George J. Long, a wealthy foundry owner, purchased Bashford Manor Farm in 1887 and developed his Thoroughbred operation that provided him two Derby wins as an owner, 1892 (Azra) and 1906 (Sir Huon), and three as a breeder, 1892 (Azra), 1899 (Manuel) and 1906 (Sir Huon). In addition, Bashford Manor also won the Kentucky Oaks in 1894 (Selika) and 1915 (Kathleen). The original Wilder family owned Bashford Manor. The Wilders were direct descendants of Lord Baltimore, whose English home was also called Bashford Manor. Long died in 1930 and the farm was eventually sold in 1973 to make way for the development of a mall complex, fittingly named Bashford Manor, that formally closed in 2003.
