Many classified bet winners have placed bids for the racetrack not long after their 4-year-old or 5-year-old season.
But when I was only 9 years old, R Superstar Rated is still thriving in the holdings and, like a fine wine, can actually taste better than ever in advanced age for coach Federico Villafranco.
The ex, 2016 (G3) and 2018 Ben Ali Stakes (G3) Takeaway winner, taught a group of young adults a thing or two about respecting their elders as he enjoys profit from the insider trip and score a nasty 25-1 goal with $150,000 in Season Five Stakes. January 15 at Oaklawn Park.
“Just because they’re 8 or 9 doesn’t mean they can’t run,” said winning owner Danny Caldwell. “They’re old, tough horses and they know their job. They work hard every day.”
While the one-mile fifth season turned out to be a huge disappointment for the 3-2 favorites team Concert tour , the last of the 9 in the first start-up in 8 months, R-Rated Superstar started its 9-year-old campaign brilliantly after 4 months of being laid off.
“We gave him a break and he came back. Freddy did a great job getting him back,” Caldwell said. “I was thinking of giving him a run in an allowance race but Freddy said he was doing as well as he used to in our barn. I said give him a shot (in the Fifth part).”
Danny Caldwell smiles after his win from R-Rated Superstars in Stakes season five
Caldwell and Villafranco declare Kodiak Kowboy gelding for $50,000 last January at Oaklawn Park and was awarded a second in the $500,000 Essex Handicap at Oaklawn and winning the $175,000 Governor’s Cup Remington Park. Before Saturday, he had won two, three seconds and a third in eight starts for them.
Breaking 2nd on Saturday, track runner David Cabrera wisely saved the ground after Rated R Superstar broke through slowly and finished eighth after a quarter-mile opening in: 23.33 .
Meanwhile, the sprinter stretched Mucho rush to take the lead, chased by two favorites, 5-2 Thomas Shelby and Concert Tour.
Gary and Mary West’s Concert Tour, which kicks off his first for coach Brad Cox after not racing since entering the 2021 Preakness Stakes (G3) for coach Bob Baffert, has had three round on the back seat. He arrived empty-handed in the first leg and retreated losing in 15 seconds.
“He hasn’t run in a short while,” says jockey Joel Rosario. “He’s been there for a while and it looks like he’s a bit distracted in the last part of the race. We’ll see how he comes back next time.”
That prompted Thomas Shelby to start the chase, but he couldn’t get back to Mucho, 1st grade.
Behind them, R-Rated Superstars and Cabrera stepped off the rails for three wide-angles in the first leg and drew about half the length of the lead in the eighth column and then inched away with a neck
The winner is timed at 1:37.10 and pays $53.80 to win the second longest price on the chessboard
WSS Racing and Mucho of 4 G Racing, son of Blame coached by John Ortiz, finished half-length ahead of Thomas Shelby of M and M Racing, Curlin gelding trained by Robertino Diodoro.
“He ran a winning race. To come second, it was heartbreaking,” Ortiz said.
Bred by Thorndale Stable in Kentucky, Rated R Superstar is the sixth of 11 ponies from Gold shell mare Evil Wish , who produced seven winners, with R-Rated Superstar being the sole winner. Her most recent pony is a yearning Bolt d’Oro pony.
Rated R Superstar got his 10th win in 57 starts and pushed his earnings to $1,271,014.
Caldwell says the February 12 Razorback handicap (G3) in Oaklawn could be next.
“We’re looking at Razorback,” Caldwell said. “That’s what we’re hoping for. If he tells us he’s ready for the race, we’ll be there.”
Videotapes: Fifth part S. (BT)
