Madison’s Luna pulls away in first stakes
HALLANDALE BEACH — Trainer Phillip Bauer couldn’t find a less challenging spot for maiden winner Madison’s Luna at Tampa Bay Downs, so he brought the 3-year-old grey colt to Gulfstream for the Hutcheson Stakes and was richly rewarded.
Madison Luna won his only start at Tampa, but Bauer couldn’t find an entry-level allowance for him on Florida’s west coast. When he noticed the Hutcheson field wasn’t a sterling one for a race with a $100,000 purse, he decided to take a shot, and Madison Luna, sent off at 9/2, won like a horse with a big future.
Julien Leparoux kept the son of Tapit just off the pace until the field was going to the far turn of the 6 furlong Grade 3 stakes. When Leparoux asked Madison’s Luna for run, he exploded, racing up to and past the leaders as the field straightened for the stretch run. By the wire, Madison’s Luna had five lengths on runnerup Soutache with Tricks to Doo third. His time, 1:10.45, was more than a second and a half faster than stakes fillies ran earlier in the card.
“Maybe I’m a little surprised at how he cruised up to an honest pace,” Bauer said. The way Madison’s Luna won encouraged Bauer to feel his horse will have no problem handling longer distances. “You saw how he relaxed behind horses. He does everything the right way.”
The impressive performance earned Madison’s Luna a start on Kentucky Derby Day at Churchill Downs, but it won’t be in the run for the roses, Bauer said. “He’ll go in the Pat Day Mile.” anxious moments before getting the money in the final strides of the $75,000 Any Limit.
Away slowly, Elevenses raced up into a box on the inside down the backstretch. Luis Saez was able to extricate her by swinging four wide at the top of the stretch and she gradually wore down Onebrethatatatime to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:11.89 for 6 furlongs.
Elevenses is trained by Jimmy Jerkens, son of late Hall of Fame trainer H. Allen Jerkens, who conditioned multiple stakes winner Any Limit.