DON'T LET DOWN WINS THE ALL AMERICAN DERBY

Dont Let Down (#4) holds off Separate Bet in the $504,000 All American Derby(G1).
Photo by Bill Pitt, Jr.

Dont Let Down Upsets Separate Bet In All American Derby(G1)



RUIDOSO DOWNS, NM—SEPTEMBER 2, 2007—Bobby Cox’s homebred Dont Let Down held off a late bid by 2-5 favorite Separate Bet to win the Grade 1, $504,000 All American Derby at Ruidoso Downs on Sunday afternoon.

Dont Let Down, ridden by Juan Vazquez, raced the 440 yards in :21.056 for his seventh win from 15 career starts. He took the lead in the first few jumps and was able to hold off Separate Bet.

“He broke good out of the gates,” Vazquez said. “I was still looking for (Separate Bet) and he came pretty fast at me, but I got lucky and got to the wire first.”

Dont Let Down crossed under the finish line a neck ahead of Separate Bet while it was another half-length back to Hiclass La Jolla in the field of nine sophomores.

The All American Derby victory earned Dont Let Down an invitation to the Grade 1, $1 million Champion of Champions on December 8 at Los Alamitos.

Last fall, he campaigned at Lone Star Park, so the gelding could head to the Dallas-area track before a trip to Los Alamitos.

The Stoli-sired Dont Let Down has been a leading member of his division for the past year since finishing third in the Grade 1, $1.9 million All American Futurity. Since then he won the Grade 1 Dash For Cash Futurity, finished second in the Grade 2 Heritage Place Derby and qualified for the Grade 1, $1 million All American Derby.

Dont Let Down is the second Stoli offspring in as many days to win a stakes race at Ruidoso Downs. On Saturday, the Stoli-sired Ketel Won ran away with the Grade 3 All American Gold Cup.

Separate Bet, a gelded son of Separatist, was sent off as the odds-on favorite by the standing-room-only crowd off his Grade 1, $448,000 Rainbow Derby win, his 400-yard track-record setting win in an allowance race and setting the fastest qualifying time to the All American Derby. The Paul Jones-trained gelding broke in slightly at the start under jockey Freddie Martinez, but didn’t find his explosive acceleration, although he steadily gained ground in the last half of the race.

“We had a clean break, but the first 100 hundred yards he couldn’t get a hold of the racetrack. He tried ‘em,” said Martinez. “That four horse (Dont Let Down) opened up quite a bit; I was just hoping to get up for second.”

Sent off at 6-1 in the wagering, Dont Let Down rewarded his backers with $13.80, $3.40 and $3.00. Separate Bet returned $2.40 and $2.20 while Hiclass La Jolla, a colt by Streakin La Jolla and trained by John Buchanan paid $5.40 to show.

The complete order of finish was Dont Let Down, Separate Bet, Hiclass La Jolla, Gus The Greek, Valiant Hero, Feature For You, Mightys First Call, Run Perry Run and Ivory James.