Bowies Hero after capturing the $102,760 Del Mar Juvenile Turf Championship.
Agave Racing Stable and Hebert Bloodstock’s Bowies Hero made his intentions to contest the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (GIT) in November well known Saturday with his impressive one-length score in the $102,760 Del Mar Juvenile Turf Championship. The bay son of Artie Schiller, who was ridden to victory by jockey Rafael Bejarano, is trained by Phil D’Amato.
Bowies Hero, who was purchased privately by Kathleen Hebert and Mark Martinez after winning a 7 ½-furlong turf sprint at Lone Star Park in mid-July by 5 ½ lengths, is now undefeated in his two starts and has earned $72,240. The final time for the one-mile Turf Championship distance was 1:36.40.
“When I saw the video of this horse when he broke his maiden at Lone Star I wanted this horse in the worst way and it worked all worked out.”
Bowies Hero paid $11.40, $5.40 and $3.80 at odds of 9-2. Favored Big Score was worth $3.40 and $2.60 at odds of nearly 5-2 and 4-1 chance Billy Big, who crossed the wire 6 ½ lengths back in third, returned $3.40. The $1 exacta was good for $19.60 and the $.50 trifecta $39.90.
Bowies Hero, who is out of the Sky Mesa mare Remembered, was bred in Kentucky by the partnership of Pope McLean, Pope McLean Jr. and Marc McLean. D’Amato said the colt will likely start in the Zuma Beach Stakes at Santa Anita on October 10 before heading to the Breeders’ Cup.
California native and lifelong horsewoman Margaret Ransom is a graduate of the University of Arizona’s Race Track Industry Program. She got her start in racing working in the publicity departments at Calder Race Course and Hialeah Park, as well as in the racing office at Gulfstream Park in South Florida. She then spent six years in Lexington, KY, at BRISnet.com, where she helped create and develop the company’s popular newsletters: Handicapper’s Edge and Bloodstock Journal. After returning to California, she served six years as the Southern California news correspondent for BloodHorse, assisted in the publicity department at Santa Anita Park and was a contributor to many other racing publications, including HorsePlayer Magazine and Trainer Magazine. She then spent seven years at HRTV and HRTV.com in various roles as researcher, programming assistant, producer and social media and marketing manager.
She has also walked hots and groomed runners, worked the elite sales in Kentucky for top-class consignors and volunteers for several racehorse retirement organizations, including CARMA.
In 2016, Margaret was the recipient of the prestigious Stanley Bergstein Writing Award, sponsored by Team Valor, and was an Eclipse Award honorable mention for her story, “The Shocking Untold Story of Maria Borell,” which appeared on USRacing.com. The article and subsequent stories helped save 43 abandoned and neglected Thoroughbreds in Kentucky and also helped create a new animal welfare law known as the “Borell Law.”
Margaret’s very first Breeders’ Cup was at Hollywood Park in 1984 and she has attended more than half of the Breeders’ Cups since. She counts Holy Bull and Arrogate as her favorite horses of all time. She lives in Pasadena with her longtime beau, Tony, two Australian Shepherds and one Golden Retriever.
