Oh Baby! Eclipse Wins with 3 Freshman in a Week Across the Country
The Eclipse freshman class made a humongous statement this week, winning races on the left coast, the right coast and smack-dab in the center of the country. It was a monster trifecta for the fledging stable, who acquired each of the youngsters via different channels.
The week got off to a solid start when Flying Rapunzel, a debutante who was acquired for just $30,000 as a yearling last September, ran away and hid from her competition en route to a 3 ¾-length score at Arlington Park in Chicago. The daughter of Tale of the Cat, who is conditioned by Wayne Catalano, is now destined for the Grade 3, $150,000 Arlington Washington Lassie on September 8th in the Windy City.
On Thursday, Tara From the Cape, who Eclipse plucked privately after breaking her maiden at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, made her debut in the baby blue and black a winning one by capturing the $50,000 Thomas “Tuck” Greene Memorial Stakes at Delaware Park in impressive fashion. The Todd Pletcher trainee now has a Stakes win to add to her unblemished resume and is under consideration for the $100,000 P.G. Johnson Stakes at Saratogaon August 29th, or the $250,000 Grade 2 Natalma at Woodbine on September 15th.
Then, to complete the hat trick of 2 year-old winners for the week, the well-regarded Capo Bastone earned Thoroughbred Daily News “Rising Star” status for his scintillating maiden victory at Del Mar. Trained by John Sadler, Capo Bastone has now thrust himself right into the thick of the 2 year-old colt division and the Grade 1, $300,000 Del Mar Futurity on September 5th is his next target.
“What a fantastic week!” Eclipse President, Aron Wellman beamed. “It is incredibly gratifying to win with each of these promising youngsters, as they were all scouted and acquired in entirely different ways. We believe a good horse can come from anywhere at any time and the wins this week fully displayed the breadth of our reach in terms of flexibility on the acquisition side of the equation, as well as the scope of venues we’ve spread out to.
“I’m very happy for all of the partners who experienced these exciting wins and can now dream big,” Wellman added. “Without our partners, there’s no way we have the resources to buy these fine animals. Their faith in our program and our abilities is paramount to Eclipse’s success.”