Royal Copy became his sire’s newest impressive winner on Saturday, as the talented 2-year-old colt by freshman sire Bodemeister proved best over a loaded field in an $83,000 Maiden Special Weight race at Saratoga [VIDEO].
Trained by Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, Royal Copy showed good speed to stalk the early pacesetter after breaking well under jockey Luis Saez. As the field approached the top of the stretch in the seven-furlong event, Royal Copy forged to the lead and turned back a challenge from Pretty Boy Flash to draw clear by 1 ¼ lengths at the wire. He stopped the clock in 1:23.84 over a fast local main track, just as the rain began to fall in what turned out to be a water-logged afternoon that would cancel the latter portion of the Saratoga card.
The victory moved the bay colt’s earnings to $68,725 for owners Robert Baker and William Mack, who purchased Royal Copy earlier this year for $350,000 at the OBS April sale. Bred in Kentucky by Betz, Blackburn, DJ Stables, CoCo Equine, Burns, and Magers, he hails out of the Meadowlake mare Meadow Breeze, a Grade 1-winning juvenile in New York during her racing career. Meadow Breeze is also the half-sister to leading 2-year-old and Arkansas Derby (G1)-winning 3-year-old Overanalyze – now a stallion standing at WinStar.
Bodemeister – a dominant Arkansas Derby (G1) winner himself and multiple classic-placed 3-year-old – is showing the brilliance as a sire that he displayed on the racetrack. The popular stallion by Empire Maker continues to move up the Freshman Sire’s list, now ranking third after Saturday’s victory.
