Veteran campaigner prevails in stretch duel to win NYRABETS Sprint.
OLDSMAR, Fla.—A hallmark of consistency, Pudding’s results have been as savory as his name suggests.
Trainer Elizabeth Dobles claimed the 7-year-old Florida-bred son of Two Step Salsa from Kathleen O’Connell last July at Gulfstream Park, and Pudding has finished in the money in seven of his last eight starts, never finishing worse than fourth, since arriving in his new conditioner’s barn.
And on Florida Cup Day, the dark bay gelding made it even more sweet for his connections, winning the 19th running of the 6-furlong NYRABETS Sprint Stakes Sunday afternoon at Tampa Bay Downs, turning back the challenge of last year’s winner, Tap It Two Win, who was a head in front in the stretch, to win by a desperate neck, under the confident handling of four-time Eclipse Award winner and Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano.
“I thought it was brilliant, at the start of the race going to the front because nobody else really took it” said Dobles. “Once somebody else did, giving them the opportunity to take over, and let him rest a little bit, and then asking him to kick back in the end and really fight, it means a lot.”
It was Pudding’s first stakes win while in Dobles’s charge, after placing twice in stakes at Gulfstream Park, making it a sweet victory for the trainer who owns 50 % of the gelding, with Imaginary Stable’s John Guanere owning the other half. Dobles was impressed with Pudding’s performance. She has a soft spot for the durable runner, who went postward for the 33rd time.
“He’s a dream. He’s one of my favorites,” said Dobles. “Unfortunately, almost every horse I own, turns out to be one of my favorites. He’s definitely one of my heart horses.”
The complexion of the race changed dramatically, when a horse Pudding has faced several times previously, was scratched, Arindel’s Gatsby. However, it was Live Oak Plantation’s homebred Tap It To Win, that provided the challenge.
“At the top of the stretch, it looked like he was going to go by,” said Castellano. “He never gives up. He carries all the way to the wire.”
