Sunday, September 30, 2012
Put It Back's promising 2-year-old colt Brave Dave captured his second straight stake with a dominating 4 ¾-length triumph in the $100,000 Birdonthewire S. at Calder Race Course Saturday. Brave Dave was prepped for his racing career at Barry and Shari Eisaman's farm in Williston, Florida.
Prior to the Birdonthewire, Brave Dave won Monmouth Park's Grade 3 Sapling S. on Sept. 2.
Brave Dave showed his customary speed right out of the gate, taking control of the race in the first 100 yards and carrying the field through early splits of :21.51 and 45:.03. He never faced any type of serious threat thereafter, expanding his lead through the stretch, crossing the wire an easy winner to stop the timer in 1:11.51.
“I know he’s a nice horse and that’s why I came to ride him,” winning jockey Paco Lopez said of his decision to travel to south Florida to retain the mount on the Eddie Plesa, Jr.-trained colt. “I like this horse a lot.
“There weren’t any horses in here that could go with him,” Lopez said. “And he got out of the gate so quick he just got to his spot by himself. At the sixteenth (pole) I asked him a little, but there really wasn’t much for him to do because no one was coming after us,” Lopez added. “And when we hit the finish line, he was still going easy.”
With his victory in the Birdonthewire, Brave Dave is now a three-time winner from four career starts with his lone defeat coming in the Grade 2 Sanford S. at Saratoga. Owned by David Melin (also his breeder) and Laurie Please, Brave Dave has amassed $151,100 in earnings.