The race developed much as expected with Mister Herbie,
Commander Crowe and Chapter Seven all leaving sharply for early position.
Elitlopp winner Commander Crowe and driver Cristophe Martens showed their hand
early gaining the front from Mister Herbie before the first turn. Chapter Seven
and Tim Tetrick found out quickly that Martens had no intention of yielding the
lead, at least in the early stages.
Tetrick took his medicine kindly keeping his horse
interested on the outside while Commander Crowe marched to intense fractions of
:27 2/5 and :55 4/5. During the battle Tetrick sat chilly while Martens
continually went to the whip to urge his nine-year-old gelding on.
Despite the “good” surface the fractions remained strong on
the far turn with Ccommander Crowe hitting the three quarters in 1:24 3/5 with
Chapter Seven on his flank. Third-choice Mister Herbie was in the pocket
without room while Arch Madness was second over struggling to keep with his
cover.
In the homestretch Chapter Seven was still trotting and by
midstretch he appeared to be wearing down the foreign-invader Commander Crowe.
Mister Herbie was able to squeeze in tight quarter between
horses but his momentum was too late to get near Chapter Seven settling for
second with a tired Commander Crowe finishing third.
The 1:52 3/5 effort was most impressive given the tiring
nature of the racing surface.
Trainer Linda Toscano was jubilant in the winner’s circle
following Chapter Seven’s second consecutive Breeders Crown title. “I can’t
dream this big,” she said. “Without question he’s the best horse I’ve ever had.
The trainer continued. “I didn’t know that he could do that (race parked the
mile) but as long as he has a target he wants to go past.”
The victory for Chapter Seven was his seventh of the year in
nine starts and elevated his four-year-old earnings to $927,700. Richard
Gutnick, Southwind Farm and Jerry and Theresa Silva own Chapter Seven. Chapter
Seven was bred by Richard Banca.
The victory was worth $3.50 to win on a $2 wager with the exacta
with Mister Herbie for second paying $8.
