 |
|||||
|
Sim Trainer Stats Sim Race Stats |
BRISTOL ROVERS Owner/Trainer: swampy Record: 46-26-5-4; $7,063,655
Win: Sand Castle Golden Turf Classic-G1, Ark de Triumph-G1, Japan Classic-G1, The Cortina d’Ambezzo Run-G1, Lester Piggott-G1, Doomben Cup-G1, Classic Turf Stakes-G1, Man o’War Stakes-G1, Quixall Crossett Gold Cup-G1, Big City Handicap-G2, Dawn to Dusk Stakes-G2, Longstickgoboom Stakes-G2, Pan American H-G2, Slow Tree Special-G3 (2x), Winchester Park Cup-G3, Vanilla Total Special, Well Doc Bonanza Stakes, Dawn Chat Handicap, S. Dance Special, The Near the Limit Challenge, The Where Are All the 12f Turf Stakes Races for 3yos Special, Print Stakes. Place: Judge Fourteen Special. Show: Coalminer Cup-G1, Ferdichenko Cup-G2. For those not familiar with football, and no, I am not referring to American football, you may not catch the reference, but Bristol Rovers is named for a football club with a long and storied history, going back well over a century. Their nickname, the Pirates, is aptly fitting for a horse with a swashbuckling style of racing, a horse with a flair for the dramatic, for bursting forth from the middle of the pack with reckless abandon, diving through the narrowest of holes on his way to first place. While no slouch over a firm course, perhaps in honor of his seafaring history, Bristol Rovers was one of the absolute best, if not the best, off-track specialists that racing has ever seen. In boggy ground and swamp-like conditions, where other horses feared to tread, and those that did tread, quickly tired, Bristol Rovers blasted through it like he was part seahorse. Patience is rewarded. And Exhibit A to that quote ought to be Bristol Rovers, whose patient early handling by swampy was paid back in spades over the course of Bristol Rovers’s career. Bristol Rovers had a modest campaign at two, with only a maiden score and a handful of placings from five starts. Still, swampy knew that his slightly awkward, leggy colt, needed to mature. And so, the beginning of the colt’s sophomore campaign was much the same, each start building upon the last. As the distances increased, Bristol Rovers would get closer and closer to catching the winner, notching the second win of his career in a 9 ½ furlong allowance. In his next start, the colt made the leap to 11 furlongs, where he romped home first by 6 ½ lengths, posting a 101 SF in the process. With three wins under his belt, and rapid improvement in form, it was finally time to tackle stakes competition. The colt floundered a bit in his stakes debut, finishing a tiring fourth. But, swampy was undeterred. He knew he had something. He went back to the drawing board, and this time, Bristol Rovers earned the stakes win over a modest field in the Print Stakes. Bristol Rovers was ready to move on to bigger things. And so, with the various Derbies and Darbies all having been run, while Bristol Rovers was working his way up to this level, it is accurate, and somewhat entertaining, that the Rovers’ graded stakes debut came in the Where Are All the 12f Turf Stakes For 3yos’s Special. Sent off the third choice in the 13 horse field, the colt rated in midpack before accelerating to run away with the race, mocking his competition with a facile seven length win. The time for the 1 ½ miles was a rapid 2:29 3/5, which was comparable to the great Allied Assault, who was dominating the division. Still, as the G1 had wryly noted, stakes opportunities limited to 3yos only were few and far between, and so Bristol Rovers returned to listed stakes competition for his next start. A handful of runners showed up, and once again, Bristol Rovers was clearly in a class of his own, waltzing away to win by 11 1/4 lengths as the heavy favorite. In his next start, Bristol Rovers would step outside of his class, and contest the G1 Coalminer Cup. What the field lacked in size, it more than made up for it in terms of quality, featuring Majestic Water, Sarahs Blues, Bob the Cob and Black Lois. While the Rovers didn’t emerge victorious this go-round, a game third was nothing to be ashamed of, and with two big efforts leading up to this race, a bit of a bounce was to be expected. Back against his own generation, Bristol Rovers was quick to make amends, taking on pretty much everyone other than Allied Assault in the Quixall Crossett Gold Cup-G1. Once again, he would kick clear in the final turn, ears pricked as he hit the wire 4 ½ lengths ahead of Northern Desert, with seven other graded stakes winners also left in his wake. Once again, the spirited colt had completed the distance in 2:29 3/5 (116 SF). It was time to take on the pro tem leader, Allied Assault, who was fresh off a victory in the Breeders’ Bowl Classic. This was no rumble in the jungle, but instead would take place in Japan, the race, the G1 Japan Classic. It attracted a full field of 14, including Silverwore, who was making his turf debut. While Allied Assault was understandably the favorite, Bristol Rovers was surprisingly ignored in the betting. Under a clever ride by Roser, Bristol Rovers got first jump on the champion in the stretch, and never looked back, increasing his lead with every stride, needing no encouragement from his rider, and as he crossed the shadow of the wire, the sophomore was 5 3/4 lengths ahead of Allied Assault. And yet, while Allied Assault had run a terrific race, iin the Japan Classic, Bristol Rovers had taken it to another level, setting a new stakes record of 2:28 3/5 (123 SF) that still stands three years later. Bristol Rovers may have begun his season quietly, but he had definitely climbed to the top with this victory, concluding his 3yo campaign with a record of 11-8-1-1. While Allied Assault was a deserving champion, based upon his accomplishments, Bristol Rovers had served notice that he would be one to watch the following season. Swampy, continuing to exhibit the patience and care with his prize charge, gave Bristol Rovers a 10 week freshening after his heroic effort in the Japan Classic. Upon his return, the colt was asked to do nothing more than run in a prep race, the S. Dance Special. The field was actually tougher than perhaps you’d expect from a nongraded stakes, but it didn’t matter: the Rovers won in a workmanlike effort over Bob the Cob. Next came the Pan Americana Handicap-G2, and swampy got exactly what he was looking for, a relatively easy four length victory. Back at 100%, it was time to tackle the deserts of Dubai in search of riches. As one might expect, a pirate’s treasure is not easily obtained, and Bristol Rovers would have to overcome the likes of Allied Assault, Saddle Up Partner, Russ, Sacrilege, Questing Gulch and Green Bow in order to bring home the prize. However, a pirate is not easily deterred, and Cassell, in a brilliant, nervy performance, stole the race, sending Bristol Rovers to the lead much earlier than anyone had expected, opening up a 6 3/4 length lead, while Allied Assault was only beginning to roll from the back of the pack. The fans held their breath - would the champion catch him? Would Bristol Rovers tire? The answer to both questions was no, as Bristol Rovers once again defeated Allied Assault, this time by 4 ½ lengths. The win streak would continue, this time in the desert climate of Arizona. Bristol Rovers added the Slow Tree Special-G3 to his burgeoning stakes tally, this time with a four length score over Questing Gulch. However, the strain of six straight wins finally caught up with the son of Rahy, and he was a horribly dull fourth in the Louisiana Turf Classic-G1. While Allied Assault coasted to an easy victory, Bristol Rovers never lifted a hoof, finishing nearly 40 lengths back. Swampy, and Bristol Rovers growing fan base, were concerned that the colt had injured himself, but it proved to be nothing more than a passing cough, and so the four year old returned four weeks later to do battle in the Longstickgoboom Stakes-G2. Much to his connections’ relief, Bristol Rovers picked up where he’d left off in the Slow Tree, winning by six lengths in quick time. All was well again, and the halycon days of summer continued with a devastating score in the Dawn to Dusk Cup-G2. Bristol Rovers was unbeaten in two prior starts over the off going, but in this race, he proved how special he was when the ground had a bit of give to it, running away from the rest of the field by seven lengths and earning a 118 SF in the process. It would be on to the Equinics in Athens, and Bristol Rovers was sent off as the favorite in a 16 horse field. He completely justified the fans’ confidence, winning by 4 3/4 lengths in a gold medal performance. Bristol Rovers’ sensational season continued with a simply amazing effort against Allied Assault in the Man Of War Stakes-G1. Once again, Bristol Rovers’ tactical speed gave him the edge against his rival, and while Allied Assault was furiously chipping away at his rival’s lead, which was dwindling with every stride, of the four length lead, Bristol Rovers was still a desperate ½ length clear of his rival. With this as the prep, fans could hardly wait for the main event: the Breeders’ Bowl Turf. In addition to a rematch of these two titans, Sunnybank Memorial, who had been utterly dominating the three year old division, was stepping up. This race would determine the title of older turf horse. Sadly, for Bristol Rovers and his connections, all of the anticipation proved anticlimatic, as the horse was injured less than a quarter mile away from the gate. And like that, poof!, any hope of a title was gone. Still, it had been a brilliant season, by anyone’s standards, even if there wasn’t any end of the year hardware to show for it. In eleven starts, Bristol Rovers had come away with the victory nine times, four of them in grade 1 events, including one of turf’s richest races, and a gold medal And yet, the injury left everyone with a lingering wistfulness as to what might have been. Bristol Rovers spent nearly three months on the sidelines recovering from his injury, and as a result, he was a trifle rusty in his five year old debut, finishing an even third in the Ferdichenko Cup-G3. A drop in class was just what the doctor ordered, as Bristol Rovers prevailed in a stiff stretch drive with Rainbow Moonshell in the Dawn Chat Handicap. Once again, it was on to Dubai, in defense of his title, but this time, the Rovers didn’t have quite as much swagger, running a dull eighth behind Rain God and Sunnybank Memorial. Things perked up when Bristol Rovers went for a repeat in the Slow Tree Special-G3, this time, the veteran successfully defended his title. Next it was on to the Doomben Cup-G1, where Bristol Rovers defeated a solid field, including Rain God. Things didn’t go as well in his next start, so once again, swampy dropped his talented horse into a listed stakes. When the rains started, you might have well booked that bet - it was an easy score, as Bristol Rovers remained unbeaten over an off track. Next came a win against grade 3 competition, and then a return to the big time in the Ark De Triumph-G1. The cold damp rains started, and just like that, the race was over. Bristol Rovers stormed home the 4 ½ length victor. Next came the Breeders’ Bowl Turf, and for swampy and his colt, there was so much emotion with this race, after what had happened the previous year. However, standing between them and the vindication a victory would bring, was a monster group of turf titans: Horseshoe Bay, Allied Assault, Sunnybank Memorial and Rain God. As it would turn out, Bristol Rovers ran better, but it wasn’t good enough, having to settle for fifth. The horse would race once more at five, scoring an easy victory in the listed Vanilla Total Stakes. Bristol Rovers had finished the year with a record of 11-7-0-1, with two grade one victories. At age six, there would be no prep race to start the campaign. Instead, after a seven week freshening, Bristol Rovers was on a quest for his second gold medal. He had earned his first gold medal 18 months earlier over a firm turf course, this time, he would have to earn it on a cold, wet, miserable day in Italy. A much tougher field was assembled in this quest for Equinics glory, with the likes of Sunnybank Memorial, Horseshoe Bay and Confederacy in the line up. But, as always, when the turf course was less than perfect, nothing could touch the Rovers, and so it proved that day. Despite a slower start than usual, Bristol Rovers bulled his way through traffic, fighting, battling, never giving up, until he had made up the nearly 11 length deficit to catch the pacesetting Confederacy to prevail by a stubborn half length. It was a unique accomplishment, two gold medals under such varying circumstances, but Bristol Rovers had proved up to the challenge. The rest of his season, which was rather abbreviated for various reasons, never really came close to equalling the heights he reached on that February day. Bristol Rovers would add one more tally that year, once again over a course rated less than firm - a 4 3/4 length victory in the G2 Big City Handicap. Still, it was clear that Father Time was catching up with the Rovers. His record at the end of his 6yo campaign was 7-2-1-0. He would race once the following season, finishing second in an allowance, before being retired. His daughter, Ikea at Eastville (by Shamardal), another Rovers reference, as of this writing, has won her debut. Bristol Rovers, while in the shadow of Allied Assault for much of his career, proved a worthy rival, and beat the champion on more than one occasion, earning nine grade 1 victories along the way. Although never finding championship honors himself, there is definitely a what could have been feel to his four year old campaign. His accomplishments in the Equinics were notable, and his prowess over an off turf course simply amazing - he was unbeaten in seven starts over such going. Bristol Rovers’ competitive spirit against the absolute best in his division and distinctive style of running makes him a worthy addition to the Hall. |
||||
