PREPONDERATE, a colt owned by Three Chimney’s principal Robert N. Clay, became Big Brown’s 21st first crop winner after powering away to record a 2 3/4-lens win on the turf at Tampa Bay Downs in sunny Florida last weekend.
A member of Big Brown’s first USA crop, Preponderate was first up this year and was given the perfect ride by Jose Garcia who used the colt’s natural pace to slide into the box seat stalking the leaders.
Garcia kept his nerve into the straight staying on the fence before driving Preponderate through a gap, surging clear for an emphatic win.
The odds of 25/1 no doubt pleased Clay, but he’d be delighted to notch yet another winner (now 21 from 41 starters) building on Big Brown’s growing tally of winners at home in the USA as well as Canada, Europe and two in Japan.
“The thing that stands out about the Big Brown’s so far is that it doesn’t take them long to win,” commented Vinery’s Conor Phelan.
“And it is significant also that Big Brown’s most recent winner was on turf. Big Brown only raced twice on turf and won both times including his near 12-lens Saratoga debut as a 2YO before winning a $500,000 Graded race at Monmouth.”
Preponderate is out of stakes winner Santaria, who earned $266,937 in her career. Santaria has produced 6 winners, including grade II stakes-placed Formidable, and grade II winners Air Commander and Medallist, who earned $421,375. Santaria is a half sister to 4 winners, including stakes winner Action Mutante.
