Chiropractor caps graded double for Glen Hill, Proctor in Hollywood Derby
November 29th, 2015
As you’d expect from Glen Hill homebreds, both sport strong pedigrees. Chiropractor is a Kitten’s Joy half-brother to 2011 Haskell Invitational (G1) hero Coil. Their dam, the Theatrical mare Eversmile, is in turn a half-sister to 1995 champion turf mare Possibly Perfect. Family Meeting, by Sky Mesa, is the first registered foal from Family Plan, a daughter of Glen Hill mainstays Repriced and Deep Discount. Family Plan is in turn a full sister to five stakes performers, chief among them Grade 3 heroines Closeout and Capital Request. Coincidentally, Capital Request won the Miesque at Gulfstream Park, and the Jimmy Durante is the new incarnation of the stakes formerly known as the Miesque (G3) at Hollywood.
The parallels between Chiropractor and Family Meeting continue. Both also began their careers in the Midlantic, and both were making their stakes debuts on Saturday. Chiropractor, unraced at two, broke his maiden second time out at Delaware Park June 17. Subsequently shipped to Del Mar, he cleared his entry-level allowance condition in his second try August 30. He was coming off a rallying second versus his elders over this course and 1 1/8-mile trip November 6. The juvenile filly Family Meeting was an educational fourth in her unveiling in a six-furlong dirt maiden at Delaware September 30. Entitled to prosper when stretching out on the lawn, she duly won next out in those conditions at Laurel November 7, and made it two straight here.
One obvious difference is that they had different riders. Drayden Van Dyke was aboard Family Meeting, while Chiropractor was ridden by Corey Nakatani.
Another contrast was their respective trips. The inexperienced Family Meeting got away a beat slow from post 11 and had one of the widest passages in the Jimmy Durante. In contrast, Chiropractor broke sharply, was eased back in keeping with Proctor’s instructions, and saved ground all the way.
Family Meeting raced near the back of the pack through splits of :23.21 and :48.03, began to gain ground through six furlongs in 1:13.10, and hit her best stride in deep stretch. Quickening smartly down the outside, she nabbed Mokat in the final strides by a half-length. Family Meeting covered her final eighth in :11.61, according to Trakus, and posted a final time of 1:37.14 for the firm-turf mile. Hunch players inspired by the family theme of Thanksgiving, or pedigree enthusiasts who’d looked up her female line, were rewarded with a $76.60 win mutuel.
Chiropractor was reserved about midpack on the fence as Acceptance, the 60-1 longshot who drew in from the also-eligible list, scampered forward through fractions of :23.51 and :47.41. Odds-on favorite Om, coming off wire jobs in the Del Mar Derby (G2) and Twilight Derby (G2), may have been outside his comfort zone in a chasing role. Driven on perhaps prematurely at the six-furlong mark in 1:12.23, Om put his head in front, but couldn’t get any separation from his pursuers.
March, one of trainer Chad Brown’s foursome, was menacing wider out. But Chiropractor capitalized on his nifty inside trip, stayed on strongly, and staved off March by a head. After zipping his last furlong in :11.59, according to Trakus, Chiropractor clocked 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.87 and returned $30.80.
Trakus reports that March covered 43 feet more than Chiropractor, far in excess of his beaten margin. Om persevered for third, another half-length back. Fundamental reported home the same margin astern in fourth, giving Brown half of the superfecta. Brown’s other duo didn’t run badly despite their unplaced results. Offering Plan was beaten all of 1 1/2 lengths in fifth, and Money Multiplier was actually a better-than-appears eighth after a wide trip from last.
Chiropractor’s resume now reads 7-3-2-0, $273,100. Family Meeting has earned $84,840 from her 3-2-0-0 line. Neither will be overlooked next time.
Quotes courtesy of Del Mar
Jockey Drayden Van Dyke on Jimmy Durante winner Family Meeting: “She’s a little green; she hasn’t quite figured it all out yet. She was idling on me. But I could feel I had a ton of horse under me, so I just wanted to keep her calm. When it came time she went. She’s a good one. Can’t wait to see what she does next.”
Assistant trainer Aimee Dollase on Family Meeting: “She’s a nice filly. It’s hard to step up to a stakes coming off a maiden win but she showed some class today. She comes from off the pace, so the way the race unfolded was good for her.”
Dollase on Hollywood Derby winner Chiropractor: “Tremendous race. Very good ride. Nice horse. Tom (Proctor) had a lot of confidence in him, that’s why we went in this race. Very good day. Just awesome.”
Jockey Corey Nakatani on Chiropractor: “What a great outfit to ride for. Tom (Proctor) always has them ready. I asked him if he wanted me to do anything special (in this first time aboard Chiropractor), but he said, no, just ride your race. Get him to settle and you’ll be fine. With these kind of races, the pace is the key. And that worked well for us today. The colt was full of himself today and when it came time he fired.”
Jockey Rafael Bejarano on runner-up March: “A good race for him. No excuses for me. We were in a good spot; we had a good trip. We were just outfinished.”
Hall of Fame rider Gary Stevens on Om, third as the 4-5 favorite: “It was a super effort by this horse today. He threw a fit in the starting gate. We had all kinds of problems; he kicked the you-know-what out of it. He was good during the running though. He wasn’t pulling. He ran his race and ran well. We just got beat.”
Photos of Chiropractor (top, with March on the left), and Family Meeting courtesy of Benoit.
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