Waist Deep Wires Sapling

OCEANPORT, NJ – Super C Racing and John Huber’s Waist Deep took the field on a merry-go-round chase from gate to wire in Sunday’s $100,000 Sapling Stakes at Monmouth Park.

The Anthony Farrior trainee was the 2/1 favorite as he broke from the rail under Jorge Vargas, Jr., and set opening fractions of :24.66, :48.68, and 1:12.83 while Tapwood gave the closest early chase.

Let loose in the stretch, Waist Deep drew off to win the mile-long fast dirt route by 2 3/4 lengths in a final time of 1:39.54.

“I really didn’t need to be in front, but these babies, they don’t know when they’re going two turns for the first time,” said Vargas, Jr. “I just wanted to put him in the race early, but he took off and took me the whole way.”

Pickin’ Time passed Tapwood for second midway through the race but was not strong enough to catch the winner. Behind Tapwood in third came Heir Port and Twitty City to complete the order of finish in the race restricted to juveniles.

Ain’t Da Beer Cold lost touch with the pack midway down the backstretch and was pulled up in the far turn before getting vanned off.

Waist Deep’s win followed a fourth-place effort in the Ellis Park Derby and improved his overall record to 4-2-0-1, including a dominating maiden win in his second start. The Oxbow gelding has now earned $93,363.

“In his last start, he cut his leg during shipping and we really had to work on it before the race,” Farrior said. “He really wasn’t comfortable the whole week, and then he got in trouble in the race. We always thought he was a nice horse, so we wanted to give him another try in stakes company. After his second start, we saw what he was showing us in the morning, so we felt he had stakes ability. In the mornings, we never really go to the bottom of him. Every time some other horse would come up to him, he would want to go on, so I wasn’t worried about this being his first time around two turns. He’s a nice horse. We’ll probably give him the rest of the winter off, turn him out, and let him grow, because he has a lot of growing to do.”

Waist Deep returned $6.20 to win, $3.40 to place, and $2.60 to show. Pickin’ Time brought back $3.60 to place and $2.80 to show, while Tapwood paid $3 to show.