Boots Malone had spent his stakes attempts prior to Friday chasing home Fortissimo, who was named Ohio’s champion 2-year-old of 2024; and Superwolf, the Best of Ohio Juvenile winner. In the first stakes of this season at Belterra Park, Boots Malone finally turned the tables, cruising to a three-length win over those two foes in the $75,000 Daryl E. Parker Memorial Tall Stack Stakes for Ohio-bred 3-year-olds.
Boots Malone, who was co-bred by his trainer Robert Gorham and Mast Thoroughbreds, broke his maiden at first asking last year, then was second to Fortissimo in the Hoover Stakes, and third behind Fortissimo and Superwolf in the Cleveland Kindergarten. But a few misadventures followed, as Boots Malone stumbled and lost his rider in an allowance race next out, and then was pulled up in the Best of Ohio Juvenile, coming up completely empty after chasing the pace.
Boots Malone showed there were no ill effects when rolling by 12 1/2 lengths in an allowance in his 2-year-old finale; he easily won another allowance by six lengths over Superwolf to start his 3-year-old year. But that rival again turned the tables when edging Boots Malone by less than a length in the Howard B. Noonan Stakes last month.
This time, however, Boots Malone would get his stakes win. The gelding and Fernando Salazar Becerra bumped with Ed’s Reward at the start, but quickly recovered to track the pace in third as Superwolf led Fortissimo through an opening quarter of 22.74 seconds, with the top three separated by less than a length. Fortissimo put his head in front at the quarter pole, but Boots Malone made his bid in the three-path and went as he pleased, drawing clear in the stretch.
Fortissimo and Superwolf exchanged bumps in upper stretch, with Fortissimo edging his rival by three-quarters of a length for second. Superwolf, in third, was 10 1/4 lengths clear of the rest of the field.
Boots Malone completed the six furlongs in 1:18.43 and paid $3.60 as the favorite.
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