BALTIMORE, MD – T D Dance saved ground racing inside early, split horses in mid-stretch to gain the lead and sprinted clear to win Saturday’s $100,000 James W. Murphy Stakes at Pimlico Race Course.
Winning jockey Javier Castellano: “We had a great trip, a dream trip. We saved all the ground on the first turn. Even though it was a small field, I covered him up on the first turn. On the far turn, he cut the corner and finished up and galloped out strong. He took off when that seam opened. I told Brad [Cox] that he could be really competitive at a longer distance.”
Arzak, Charles Chrome, and Indian Lake completed the order. Morning line favorite Outadore was a scratch from the James W. Murphy.
Winning trainer Brad Cox: “He ran well. Glad he performed the way he had been training. He has always trained really well. And I think he is improving mentally as time goes on.”
(On cutting back to a mile) “I thought this made a little bit more sense at this time of his career. Hopefully, we can compete with the horses on the NYRA circuit in the 3-year-old division. That is the goal.”
“He has been a horse, who in his last few races has been sort of leaning in a little bit. He seems to have straightened up a little bit. Javier [Castellano] said he galloped out really well and gave him confidence to think that he is a horse that would go further. He doesn’t take a hold of the bit, but he is a horse that has learned to relax.”
This is the first stakes win for T D Dance. the 3-year-old son of Can the Man improved his record to 5-3-1-0 and has earned $122,300 for owners Madaket Stables LLC, Wonder Stable, Paul Farr, and Team Hanley.
T D Dance returned $3.80 to win, $2.60 to place, and $2.20 to show.
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