June 23, 2024 – Canuck Racing Club’s seventh start of 2024 allowed the club to lay claim to a 2-2-1 record and an impressive 71% in the money finish rate. On June 2, gelding Bowman’s Run (sired by Audible) made his debut as a three-year-old in a crowded 11-horse field. Originally scheduled for a mile on the turf, weather prompted the race being moved to the all-weather track and extended to a 1 1/16 miles.
The horse that won this race, Legal Catch, went in as a 4-year-old and a strong favourite with 13 previous races worth of experience and a record of 0-5-3. The three horses that finished in third, fourth and fifth place were running their sixth, sixth and fifth starts, respectively. Asking a first-time starter to run a mile and a sixteenth against experienced horses is a BIG ask. But Bowman’s Run proved ready to answer.
While no experts expected the unknown competitor to be a factor, he broke well from the gates and got brushed inside. With a long way to go, jockey Emma-Jayne Wilson patiently settled him back into the sixth slot between two rivals for most of the race. Bowman’s Run looked comfortable in traffic and was sandwiched between two competitors for a good part of the trip. Turning into the stretch, Bowman’s Run was asked for another gear and found it, prompting track announcer Robert Geller to note that he began “finishing pretty well for Emma-Jayne”. Splitting runners midway on the final turn, he determinedly closed in on second, stayed on task, and kept all but the favourite in his rear view to the wire.
A few weeks later, Bowman’s Run finished third just a head behind a $300,000 USD acquisition in a race won by a horse making his seventh start.
