By Bloodhorse.com
ARCADIA, Calif. (Oct. 6, 2019) — Sent off at odds of 23-1, Slam Dunk Racing and Michel Nentwig’sCalifornia-bred El Tigre Terrible turned in a massive upset win in the $101,755 Speakeasy Stakes Oct. 6 at Santa Anita Park and punched his ticket to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships in one fell swoop.
Trained by Peter Miller, El Tigre Terrible broke slowly in the 10-horse field and settled at the rear under jockey Ruben Fuentes. Greg’s Diva set the pace through fractions of :20.76 and :43.39 for a half-mile, followed by Alfie Solomons in second and El Tigre Terrible’s stablemate, Bulletproof One, who overtook Biddy Duke early for third.
Angled in, El Tigre Terrible saved ground off the pace before advancing up the inside and through the stretch. Cutting a path between Bulletproof One and Greg’s Diva, El Tigre Terrible got up just in time to get his head in front at the wire and complete the five-furlong turf sprint in :55.78 on a firm course.
“I had never been on this horse, not even in the morning,” Fuentes said. “They were going so quick up front that he settled on his own. I saved ground at the rail, and we had a dream trip. It opened up and he finished strong.”
El Tigre Terrible returned $49.20, $21.20, and $12.20.
“It was one of those last-minute entries. It was about 10 o’clock in the morning before entries closed, and I called Nick (Cosato) and said, ‘Hey, I think we should take a shot. If I owned the horse, I would do it.’ He said, ‘Go ahead,’ and lightning struck,” Miller said. “He showed a lot first time on the grass—he was dead last and finished with a flourish, so onward and upward. My filly Bulletproof One deserved a shot as well. She ran super, but we had to check and wait and came through. A horse freaked out at the gate (Mr. Tip) next to her, so she didn’t break well. I’m just really proud of the horses and my whole team, and I would like to thank the owners for the opportunity.
“Ruben is a great young rider and a great young kid. I’ve been riding him more, and with rides like this, we will be riding him even more.”
The victory in the “Win and You’re In” Breeders’ Cup challenge series race gave El Tigre Terrible an automatic berth in the Nov. 1 Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2T) at Santa Anita.
“Sometimes you take a shot and you win, sometimes you embarrass yourself, and sometimes you run 1-2 and it’s real sweet,” Miller said. “We’ll look at the Breeders’ Cup, absolutely.”
Bred in California by Martin Bach, the 2-year-old Smiling Tiger gelding is out of the Gotham City mare King City Kitty. He was purchased for $18,000 by Slam Dunk from the consignment of Woodbridge Farm to the 2018 Barretts Equine October Yearling and Horses of All Ages Sale. He has a 3-0-1 record from five starts, with $118,300 in earnings.