Durante, sent east after a fast starter allowance triumph in early summer at Los Alamitos Race Course, continued his ascent up the New York sprint ranks by authoritatively winning the $200,000 Bold Ruler Stakes (G3) Oct. 27 during the Belmont at the Big A meet.
The David Jacobson trainee, who the trainer owns with JKX Racing, zipped six furlongs in 1:09.78 under Manny Franco, paying $4.40 to win. Hounded by two outside rivals through a first quarter in :21.92, he shook free with a half-mile in :44.87 and maintained a clear advantage through the stretch.
2021 Saratoga Special Stakes (G2) winner High Oak closed to finish second in a photo over third-place Twisted Ride. The runner-up was 2 3/4 lengths behind Durante.
The victory was Durante's fifth in eight starts this year; the Bold Ruler was his first win in a stakes race.
Reaction
- "We got him out in California, and he's able to carry his speed—a lot of these California horses enjoy the East Coast. There's no getting around that," Jacobson said.
- "When I saw I put away those two horses, I knew I was going to be hard to beat because he was running in the stretch," Franco added.
Durante is a 4-year-old son of Distorted Humor, who was pensioned in 2021 after a long, successful stud career at WinStar Farm. Distorted Humor sired such grade 1 winners as Drosselmeyer, Funny Cide, and Commentator.
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