It’s not only that Percy’s Bar is winning big, but how she’s winning big that makes trainer Ben Colebrook appreciate what the 2-year-old filly already has done and what she might get done the rest of this season.
Percy’s Bar doesn’t fit the mold of many sharp early-season 2-year-olds, who show a lot of speed and might run fast but merely are running more than racing with intention.
Percy’s Bar, in her debut this past April at Keeneland, broke somewhat flat-footed and got steadied back to seventh leaving the 4 1/2-furlong chute and going onto the main track proper, but she roared up the rail around the turn and clipped by the leaders in midstretch to win by four lengths. In the Debutante Stakes on Sunday at Churchill Downs, Percy’s Bar broke a bit better, stuck closer to the pace stalking from sixth, made an earlier move while wide on the turn, hit the front at the quarter pole, and cruised home by five. The margin might have been wider had jockey Luan Machado pressed harder. Percy’s Bar, who galloped out well, clocked 1:09.71 for six furlongs and got a 70 Beyer Speed Figure, solid for a June 2-year-old.
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“Kind of what we noticed even in her training is she’s just the ultimate professional. And she’s got that rare quality for a dirt horse – a turn of foot,” said Ben Colebrook, who trains Percy’s Bar for Gatewood Bell’s Hat Creek Racing. “The way she can make those middle moves, like she’s done her first two races.”
Percy’s Bar, a daughter of Upstart and the Super Saver mare Honestly Deb bred by the late Brereton Jones, first caught Colebrook’s eye when she went to auction as a September yearling. Colebrook describes her as long more than tall.
“The biggest thing is she’s an efficient mover. She walks like a cat,” he said,
Colebrook views Percy’s Bar as a strong prospect for route racing, and has the 1 1/16-mile Alcibiades in October at Keeneland set as a major goal. Percy’s Bar will start once before then. The Ellis Park Debutante on Aug. 10 is a more likely target than a trip to Saratoga.
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