Judge Bern earned his maiden-breaking win Feb. 20 at Aqueduct with a daring late move, sneaking through a narrow opening on the rail to win the one-mile maiden special weight race by a neck (VIDEO).
The 3-year-old dark bay is the latest winner this year for Laoban, who finished 2020 ranked second on the First-Crop sire list and is once again in the top 10 on this year’s Second-Crop list. He is currently standing his first season at WinStar Farm for a fee of $25,000 S&N.
Judge Bern looked as he might have to settle for a minor placing for most of Saturday’s race. He was trapped behind horses along the rail for nearly the entire trip. It was only when B C Glory Days drifted out slightly in the final sixteenth that he was able to slip through and get them win.
The winner is owned by Steve Simon, Jay Rosenfeld and Charlton Baker, the latter also his breeder. Judge Bern is the first foal out of Bear She Goes, whose dam Bear Now was a three-time graded stakes winner of more than $1.1 million.
