The Fed 'eases' his way into graded-placed ranks

My sales-tip Class of 2010 acquired its 17th stakes horse Saturday when The Fed Eased came home third in the Illinois Derby-G3 at Hawthorne Race Course.

The Florida-bred colt was running in second behind eventual winner Joe Vann until deep stretch, but flattened out and was caught a few yards short of the wire by a maiden, Zoebear, who has now managed to finish second four times in six starts without winning. Final time for the 9 furlongs was 1:51.91.

I recommended the son of Montbrook-Valid Invitation, by Take Me Out as Hip 7 in last year's Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. February auction of 2-year-olds in training, where he went unsold when the high bid of $65,000 wasn't enough to meet reserve. After running second in his debut then breaking maiden convincingly on Jan. 29 at Aqueduct, he was tossed into Grade 3 company in the Gotham Stakes, which he led until fading to fifth in the mile-and-a-sixteenth test behind eventual victor Stay Thirsty and others.

Saturday's Illinois Derby was thus just the colt's fourth lifetime start. I honestly expected him to fold in the stretch of the mile-and-an-eighth distance Saturday, but he got by on enough talent and guts to hold off all the closers but one. Still, I think The Fed Eased as a son of an accomplished sprinter (and sire almost exclusively of sprinters and milers) with a dam-side that is most recently composed of 6f-9f horses, that the colt will be at his best at a mile or perhaps shorter.

With the placing, The Fed Eased now has a 1-1-1 record from four starts, and $71,790 banked. He becomes the second blacktype-placd foal for his dam, who also produced juvenile stakes-placed Sweet Enticement (Drewman). Of note, The Fed Eased is from the same female family as another of my sales selections, OBS Sprint S. (filly division)-placed Take Me To Zuber, who is a half-sister to this colt's dam.

Follow the sales class at this link.