Suburban H. (gr. I)
(gr. I , 10f ,)
POLITICAL FORCE
(GR/RO h,
116
lb) $240,000
Unbridled's Song —Glitter Woman , by
Glitterman
B—Joseph Allen,
KY.;
O—Joseph Allen;
T—H. Allen Jerkens
Fairbanks
(B h,
116
lb) $80,000
Giant's Causeway —Alaska Queen , by
Time for a Change
B—Kidder, Griggs, Mamakos,
KY.;
O—Team Valor International;
T—Todd A. Pletcher
Malibu Moonshine
(CH h,
114
lb) $40,000
Malibu Moon —Time to Coast , by
Coastal
B—Andrea Lematta,
FL.;
O—Winning Move Stable, Medico Stable and Celebrity Group Stables;
T—Kim Laudati
Margins: 1¼, 2, ½. Others: Evening Attire 114($20,000) , Hesanoldsalt 117($12,000) , Corinthian 119($8,000) . Winning Jockey, Cornelio H. Velasquez.
Political Force picked a good time to win his first stakes. The 4-year-old son of Unbridled’s Song captured the historic Suburban Handicap (gr. I) June 30 at Belmont Park.
Fourth in the early going of the 11/4-mile race, Political Force passed pacesetter Fairbanks at the top of the stretch and went on to win by 11/4 lengths over that rival. Corinthian, the 3-2 favorite, was prominent early in the race, but weakened and finished last of six.
Joe Allen, the breeder and owner of Political Force, is enjoying a fine year. Two other homebreds, Teammate and Ecclesiastic, are graded stakes winners at the same Belmont meeting. Teammate won the May 19 Shuvee Handicap (gr. II), and Ecclesiastic captured the May 27 Jaipur Stakes (gr. IIIT) for the second time. He won the 2005 renewal.
An owner for more than 25 years, Allen raced Political Force’s dam, Glitter Woman. He privately purchased the daughter of Glitterman for $400,000 after she won her debut by 10 lengths as a 2-year-old for Frank Mancari.
Glitter Woman proved to be one of the best fillies from the crop of 1994, winning five graded stakes and earning $1,256,805. She won or placed in 22 of 23 races. Her big win in the 1997 Ashland Stakes (gr. I) at Keeneland.
The mating of Unbridled’s Song to Glitter Woman seemed a logical one, considering that an earlier breeding of Unbridled’s Song to Glitter Woman’s dam, Carols Folly, produced 2001 Breeders’ Cup Distaff (gr. I) winner Unbridled Elaine. Glitter Woman was bred to Unbridled’s Song in 2004, but aborted.
Glitter Woman produced only four named foals before being euthanized Jan. 12, 2006, because of colic after delivering a Fusaichi Pegasus filly. The filly died three days later. Glitter Woman’s youngest offspring, This Just In, won last year at 2.
For trainer H. Allen Jerkens, this was the fourth time he won the Suburban. In 1962, he sent out Beau Purple to beat defending and subsequent Horse of the Year Kelso. Garwol ran third, followed by Carry Back, the previous year’s champion 3-year-old male.
Jerkens later won the Suburban in 1993-94 with Devil His Due, who became the first consecutive winner since Man o’ War’s son Crusader in the 1920s.
Unbridled’s Song, who has sired 52 stakes winners, was represented on the same card as the Suburban by the winner of the Mother Goose Stakes (gr. I). Octave won the race for 3-year-old fillies. Unbridled’s Song, who is the sire of additional 2007 added-money winners Half Ours (gr. II) and Unbridled Sidney, stands for $200,000 at the Taylor family’s Taylor Made Stallions near Nicholasville, Ky.—D.S.
