This past Sunday brought the long awaited return to the races of Grade 3 Winner First Captain. After winning his first three races in 2021, First Captain went to the sidelines after running third in the Curlin Stakes at Saratoga Racecourse in July. While he didn’t have any major issues, Shug McGaughey his trainer recommended giving him time off and preparing for a big year in 2022.
First Captain is our (West Point Thoroughbreds, Siena Farm, Bobby Flay, Woodford Racing) extremely talented 4 year old Curlin colt. Saturday’s race at Gulfstream Park (Hallendale, FL) was run at 7 furlongs (7/8th’s of a mile) which is not First Captain’s ideal distance but was intended as a starting point.
As the starting gate opened, First Captain broke well and laid off a quick pace upfront as they went down the backstretch. After an opening quarter mile in 22.71 seconds and a half mile in 45.24 seconds, jockey Jose Ortiz guided First Captain to the outside to make a run at the leader. While First Captain continued to gain ground on the leader, he was running out of ground as the finish line was fast approaching. While he needed every inch of the 7F to win, First Captain showed his class and prevailed by a head in a final time of 1 minute 22.19 seconds.
When you consider 7F is not First Captain’s ideal distance, the track was favoring speed horses and he hadn’t run in 7 months, this was a very impressive performance. First Captain came out of the race in good condition and Shug McGaughey will look at various stakes races for his next start.