Nicanor, the widely cherished full brother to the legendary Barbaro, returned to racing on Saturday in a $40,000 Maiden Special Weight at Gulfstream Park, turning in a much improved performance. Sent off at odds of 8/1, he finished a game second to 3/5 favorite Custom for Carlos and returned $6.00 for place and $4.40 for show.
Trained by Michael Matz, the 3-year-old son of Dynaformer drew national attention from horse racing fans due to his kinship with Barbaro. However, all the well wishing in the world from a hopeful and adoring public seemed for naught when he encountered trouble at several different moments during his debut on January 31st. Sent off as the second choice that day, he faded badly to tenth, beaten by 25 lengths.
The world waited with baited breath to see what would transpire in his second effort, and you know what folks? Give this horse a little time and he might be a pretty good one himself. Ultimately he was passed by Custom for Carlos, a daunting favorite who had outrun Nicanor by 46 Beyer points in his debut. Nicanor made him earn it today, and for a moment even appeared to be fighting back in the stretch. That’s an encouraging sign from a Dynaformer colt. You want them to be fighters in the stretch.
He appears capable of breaking his maiden in his next effort, provided he receives some smart placement and little bit of racing luck. We’ll see from there if he’s able to progress through the conditional allowance levels. Dreams of stakes races may be far off in the future at this point in time, but if all goes well this colt should develop and continue to move forward.
There was an ever-so-slight indication that light had turned on for Nicanor by virtue of his March 3rd workout going 4 furlongs in 48 and change. The drill was significantly faster than his last posted efforts at the distance. He cut back in distance today from 1 mile to 7 furlongs, and judging from his candor in the stretch I’d say this guy would appreciate the extra furlong again if his connections can find the right race.
i think he ran an okay race.he did show some speed in the stretch.he looked like the like he was getting the reason he was on the track.i hope he does great !how can anyone not root for nicanor?
Nicanor looked vastly improved from his last effort. The way he came back at the winner in the stretch after being passed looked promising. Maybe he’ll make a good racehorse yet.
Einstein won the SA Handicap!! Can you imagine how alluring he’ll be to breeders now?! Grade 1′s on turf, synthetic and a grade 2 on dirt, that’s so impressive. I’m betting he could be our champion older male this year. They can go anywhere with him now that he’s proved he can run on anything.
NICANOR is on the come. Loved how he kept grinding after he got passed. He’s still green but this run will go do him a ton of good. He’ll thrive around two turns just like big bro did.
Still, I’d rather they wait on him. I have this nagging feeling he’ll feel the effects of that stumble first time out.
I’d love for him to go to the turf for his maiden win…then go to Colonial Downs for the Turf Cup and Virginia Derby.