Daring journey over the top in the Tom Fool, NYRA photo
Keith McCalmont
Pantofel Stable, Wachtel Stable and Gary Barber’s New York-bred Daring journey came out last of the five to earn his second career score in Saturday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Tom Fool, a six-furlong sprint for older horses, at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott with Eric Cancel up, the 7-year-old Hard Spun gelding posted a hat-trick of wins here in 2023, winning an optional claimer, the Grade 3 Fall Highweight Handicap and Listed Gravesend in successive months before being shipped overseas in February 2024 to finish third in the Group 3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint in Saudi Arabia.
Bold Journey has since gone winless in a dozen starts, including five seconds and two third-place finishes, before making his determined bid to beat last year’s Tom Fool winner. Madness at the full moon.
“They counted him at 10-1, which I thought was a little strange. He’s a super cool horse and we’re happy and proud to have him in the barn,” said Leana Willaford, Mott’s assistant at Belmont Park.
Breslauthe 14-1 longest shot on the board in the field of five, broke alertly from the inside post and marked the first quarter mile in 22.40 seconds over the good and battered main track with 2-5 favorite One Nine Hundred pressing from the second position.
One Nine Hundred took over approaching the quarter pole as Breslau pulled away with the Reylu Gutierrez piloted Full Moon Madness coming into contention and Bold Journey was still last of 5 after half a mile in 45.52.
“To be honest, at first they kind of escaped me,” Cancel said. “I knew that was going to happen. I tried to get him involved a little bit and stay as close as possible. He did his job today. He was able to really get comfortable. By the three-eighths [pole]he started to pick it up little by little. Once we got home, I still had a horse, and he gave it his all.
Full Moon Madness doggedly chased the fast One Nine Hundred from the top of the track and enjoyed a brief moment in front in the late stages, but Bold Journey, with its ears pinned, rallied strongly along the outside of the track to rise and win by a margin in a final time of 1:10.70. It was three-quarters of a length back to One Nine Hundred in third, with Acoustic Ave and Breslau completing the finishing order.
Cancel said the quick early splits benefited Bold Journey.
“I knew they were going to go there pretty fast,” Cancel said. “I was just hoping that the pace would give way at the end, and it did. It actually worked in our favor and we got the win. I’m very happy with it.”
Gutierrez said the Michelle Nevin-trained Full Moon Madness was unlucky.
“I was the happiest man in the world when I was able to hold my horse back from that pace duel. That’s what I wanted. Man, everything went according to plan, just the wrong head turn,” Gutierrez said.
Cancel praised veteran Bold Journey, who now has just shy of $1 million in career earnings at $997,253 after collecting $96,250 in wins to improve his record to 34-8-11-3.
“He’s a really cool horse,” Cancel said. “He’s always 100 percent ready to run. He’s already seven years old. It’s hard for a lot of horses to keep it up at his age, but he still has it in him. As long as he keeps giving it to you, he’ll be here.”
Bold Journey, bred in the Empire State by Fred W. Hertrich, III and John D. Fielding, returned $23.34 on a $2 win bet.
Live racing resumes Sunday at the Big A with an eight-race card with the $135,000 correction in Race 7. The first post is 1:10 PM Eastern.
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