Scherer Magic was in the garden spot when odds-on favorite Amarish gave way in the stretch, and the former claiming horse captured the $150,000 Hollywood Juvenile Championship (gr. III) July 14 at Betfair Hollywood Park (VIDEO).
Trainer John Sadler had the first two finishers in the six-furlong test of 2-year-olds, with Carson's Crown rallying for second.
Ridden by Joe Talamo, Scherer Magic won by 2 1/4 lengths while timed in 1:11.67 over the Cushion Track. Claimed by Sadler for $50,000 for Gary and Cecil Barber out of a 7 1/4-length score in his debut June 14, the Iowa-bred Doneraile Court gelding is now 2-for-2.
Sadler said he won a shake in order to claim Scherer Magic out of his five-furlong maiden win in which he was favored at 6-5. Sadler said Gary Barber suggested they claim Scherer Magic.
"(Scherer Magic) had a bunch of good works and Gary is kind of a riverboat gambler," Sadler said. "He picked him out and I kind of did my homework on him. I thought he was racy and I had another Doneraile Court a few years ago named Noble Court. I liked the works on him and I liked the way he looked when he came over. You have to have some guts to claim an Iowa-bred. You have to be lucky, too. We won a (six-way) shake that day. Before we even claimed him, we were looking at the Iowa-bred stakes schedule.
"I might want to make him eligible to the Breeders’ Juvenile Sprint (Nov. 3 at Santa Anita). It closes tomorrow and it’s a big price reduction if you nominate him early. I thought my other horse (Carson’s Crown) also ran well. He broke a little bit poorly, but he closed really well.”
Scherer Magic raced in fourth early as Amarish got into a speed duel with 28-1 outsider Strong Wind and sped off to an opening quarter-mile of :21;81. They ran the half in :45.70 with just a head separating them.
Amarish, ridden by Edwin Maldonado, continued to lead narrowly in the stretch but soon weakened, allowing Strong Wind to lead briefly. Scherer Magic, after advancing into third for Talamo near the quarter pole, angled out and quickly tackled the new leader past mid-stretch. He took command in the last sixteenth of a mile.
"We had a perfect trip, I was able to tuck in around the turn, save a little ground and came out turning for home and blew them down," Talamo said.
Stablemate Carson's Crown, in tight and off heels in the early going for Martin Pedroza, followed Scherer Magic into the stretch and also passed the leaders to be a clear second by 1 3/4 lengths. Just Call Me Al took third with Martin Garcia aboard, while Strong Wind held on for fourth. Confederate Recon, Amarish, and Dirty Swagg completed the order.
Amarish, trained by Jeff Bonde, had been superb in winning his first two starts by a combined 12 1 /4 lengths. Bonde said he would have Amarish scoped to see if soemthing was amiss physically.
"(Maldonado) said the horse was going really easy down the backside and didn’t mind being inside," bonde said. "He got to the quarter pole, took a couple of deep breaths and shut it down."
The absence of the 2-5 choice in the first three led to some big show payoffs. Scherer Magic, the 3-1 second choice in the field of seven, paid $8.20, $4.60, and $7. Carson's Crown returned $7.80 and $14.40. Just Call Me Al, sent off at 29-1, paid $25 to show. The all-Sadler exacta was worth $47.40.
The winning dark bay is out of the Touch Gold mare She's a Nasty One and was bred by Joe Robson. Scherer Magic earned $90,000 for the victory and has now banked $107,400.