Nebupanezzar has been impressive in all eight of his starts, but the mile he delivered at Mohawk Racetrack last weekend to earn his berth in this Saturday’s $140,000 Gold Final elevated his status a notch in the eyes of trainer Bob McIntosh.
“Last week he really impressed me a lot,” says McIntosh. “That horse of John Kopas’ (Shipps Xpectancy) was coming off a good start, and when he got to the three-quarter pole in 1:24 and a bit I thought, advantage the other horse. I was real happy with my horse; he dug in down to the wire and gave everything he had.”
In spite of starting from Post 9, Nebupanezzar prevailed by a length in the 1:52.3 mile, reeling in pacesetter Shipps Xpectancy with a :27.3 last quarter. The win marked the gelding’s fifth straight victory in Gold Series action, and his sixth in eight lifetime starts.
Among the No Pan Intended son’s two losses was a runner-up finish in the $1 million Metro Pace Final at Mohawk on Aug. 30. After that effort, which saw Nebupanezzar finish just three-quarters of a length behind the winner, McIntosh and owner Bob Glazer of Peter Pan Stables Inc. in Pepper Pike, OH decided to skip the September Grand Circuit stakes at Mohawk in an effort to keep the gelding fresh through the remainder of the freshman season.
“We looked at the schedule and counted up the number of starts for the two-year-olds, and Bob Glazer and I decided to pass on the Nassagaweya and Champlain,” explains McIntosh. “We decided to give him three weeks off, but I trained him up pretty good at the farm. I wasn’t worried about him being tight enough, even though he’d been off three weeks.”
Nebupanezzar proved McIntosh correct with his impressive elimination win and will try to extend his win streak from Post 7 in this Saturday’s final. Steve Condren pilots the talented youngster, who has already earned $450,350 for Glazer, far more than his elder sibling The Mohegan Pan banked as a two-year-old.
The third foal of Glazer’s $228,403 winning mare Western Wonder, The Mohegan Pan earned just $189,457 under McIntosh’s tutelage last season. Although the gelding has more than doubled that through his sophomore campaign, and taken a mark of 1:50, McIntosh says the full brothers really have very little in common.
“They are as different as brothers can be,” says the Windsor resident. “Unlike his brother, this colt is a little harder on himself. The Mohegan Pan is more relaxed.”
The upside of Nebupanezzar’s intense temperament is that the gelding hates to lose, and gives his all in every start.
“He’s a gritty little horse. He has one hell of a competitive edge to him,” notes McIntosh. “When you get him into a corner he’ll fight, he’s a scrapper.”
The scrappy youngster will be looking to win another fight on Saturday, hoping to add a third Gold Final trophy to his sparking collection.
Post time for Mohawk Racetrack’s weekend program, which also features the Milton Stakes Final for aged pacing mares, is 7:30 p.m. The two-year-old pacing colts square off in Race 6 and the Milton Stake finalists will battle in Race 8.
To view Saturday’s entries, click here.
(OSS)