What we learned: Geaux Rocket Ride gets an assist to win Haskell

Although the betting public largely left him alone, Geaux Rocket Ride made a successful trip from California to capture the Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park for his first Grade 1 win. From a trip standpoint, he found luck early on thanks to an eager long shot in Awesome Strong.

Awesome Strong gave an assist to Geaux Rocket Ride in two ways.

First, Awesome Strong surprisingly went for the lead heading into the first turn, which made Arabian Knight run faster than expected in the opening quarter. When John Velazquez on Arabian Knight came alongside Awesome Strong, he likely did not predict that horse spurting away.

Velazquez let Awesome Strong lead for a few moments on the turn while taking Arabian Knight a bit wide to avoid a direct confrontation. But the damage had been done to Arabian Knight's chances as Awesome Strong set an opening quarter of 22.80 seconds.

For handicappers who prefer pace figures, the 22.80 opening quarter translated into a blazing 154 TimeformUS Pace Figure for Awesome Strong and a 153 for Arabian Knight. Arabian Knight took over the lead afterward, but the tempo had been set and he could slow it down to only a 47.11 half, or a 143 pace figure on TimeformUS.

As Arabian Knight burned himself up on a fast pace, Geaux Rocket Ride sat in an outside stalking position a few lengths behind the speedy pair up front.

The second point of interest is how Geaux Rocket Ride found himself on the outside after starting the race from the rail. As Awesome Strong and Arabian Knight went for the lead, they created an open space behind them heading into the first turn. Geaux Rocket Ride under Mike Smith wisely did not get caught up in following the two leaders. Instead, he enjoyed the gap.

Geaux Rocket Ride found himself in the open space in third with a large gap to the horses in front of him and a smaller gap to the horses behind him.

Why is this important? Horses run better with open space. For many horses, especially inexperienced ones, running inside or in between horses causes stress. But with Awesome Strong and Arabian Knight in their own world up front, Geaux Rocket Ride had plenty of breathing room to enjoy in third.

With no traffic obstructing Geaux Rocket Ride, Smith guided him outside into a stalking position in the clear as they rounded the turn. Geaux Rocket Ride then took advantage of this outside position nearing the far turn when he moved forward with a clear path to challenge Arabian Knight on the outside.

From there, Geaux Rocket Ride took control of the lead at the top of the stretch. He then held off a late challenge from Mage to win by 1 3/4 lengths. Arabian Knight faded to third after the less-than-ideal trip, and Extra Añejo ran evenly after a wide trip from behind to finish fourth. 

Geaux Rocket Ride completed the nine furlongs in 1:49.52, which resulted in a 100 Beyer Speed Figure and 123 TimeformUS Speed Figure. For this crop, those are good numbers in terms of figures. But the more important part is that he proved himself with a fast race and a Grade 1 win outside of Santa Anita.

Trainer Richard Mandella has options with this improving runner. With his proven class and stalking style, Geaux Rocket Ride will pose a threat wherever he goes, whether it is the Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga or the Pacific Classic (G1) at Del Mar near his home base in Southern California. 

Kentucky Derby champion Mage ran well enough for second. Even though Mage is not a superstar, he probably will hit the board in most of his races as a good horse. Backers had a fair price on him this time at 4-1 odds.

Arabian Knight had a right to get tired in the lane and fade to third after dealing with the crazy long shot and the fast opening quarter. At least he found enough to hold off Extra Añejo even if he could not keep up with the top two horses.

After a subpar start, Extra Añejo lagged near the back with Mage and ended up exchanging a few light bumps with him as they rounded the first turn. From there, Extra Añejo continued to travel wide and moved slightly forward on the far turn. He then finished evenly in the stretch. 

Geaux Rocket Ride received a great trip and ride under Mike Smith. And the future appears bright for this promising son of Candy Ride.