Mixed Up gets 2nd Grade I
From The Steeplechase Times
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Pape, Sheppard horse wins Royal Chase |
By: ST Staff, 04-20-2007
jamie@st-publishing.com |
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- After 2 1/2 miles and 13 fences, Bill Pape's Mixed Up won a sprint to the finish to capture the Royal Chase (Gr. I) at Keeneland Friday, inching away from Paradise's Boss after the last fence and then holding Good Night Shirt safe at the wire.
The final margin was neck, with Mixed Up getting his seventh jump win in a career that has also included six victories on the flat for trainer Jonathan Sheppard. The 8-year-old, ridden by Danielle Hodsdon, covered the distance in 4:42.95. Good Night Shirt (Willie Dowling) rallied late on the rail to finish second with Paradise's Boss (Xavier Aizpuru) another neck back in third. The winner paid $9 as the 7-2 favorite in the field of 11.
"I was a little nervous he was a bit far back early, because they weren't going all that quick in front," said Sheppard. "When he suddenly moved up on the backside and got into a nice position behind the leaders, fairly easily, I was happier. He was a minor stakes winner on the flat, so he's at an advantage on a racetrack like this."
Bred in Pennsylvania by Pape and Sheppard, the winner rated well back in the field for the first nine fences and moved into a striking position outside the leaders on the final run down the backside. Fourth entering the final turn, Mixed Up circled Riddle and Paradise's Boss and challenged for the lead at the top of the stretch. Paradise's Boss landed with a slight advantage over the last, but couldn't hold the advantage through the final yards.
Mixed Up converted to steeplechasing in 2004, and improved to 7-for-15 with two seconds and four thirds in jump races. The Pape/Sheppard homebred pocketed $95,475 in the Royal Chase win and increased his lifetime steeplechase earnings to $381,310.
NOTES: Preemptive Strike fell while at the race's eighth fence, and Racey Dreamer fell at the 11th. The latter was euthanized with a broken leg. Neither Chip Miller (Preemptive Strike) nor Matt McCarron (Racey Dreamer) was injured . . . Pape and Sheppard also won the Royal Chase in 2002 with It's A Giggle . . . Mixed Up also won a Grade I at Saratoga last summer . . . Jack Fisher trained the second- and third-place finishers . . . Attendance on the day was 19,259 with wagering on the race reaching $759,952.
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