Tomohawk — the Front Runner but in a moderate time
Tomohawk (Natural Selection – Preach Preacher), a full-brother to Drummer Boy, after a poor start, recovered well to slam rivals by 8 lengths in the $1.1 million – two-year-old Front Runner Dash over 5 furlongs (1,000m) on the round course.
The race lost some excitement with the late scratches of Chanae and Another Commander, thereby reducing Tomohawk to a 1-9 favourite. Chanae gave a lot of problems in the gates and badly disturbed Another Commander, leading to both horses being checked by the veterinarian on duty and declared unfit to run.
Tomohawk, with Omar Walker in the saddle, walked out of the gates when the starter let them go in the maiden special weight for native-bred two-year-olds. The bay colt recovered and slipped down into second position at the 3-furlong (600m) behind Powerman (Shane Ellis).
Coming into the lane, Tomohawk challenged Powerman for the lead and then sprinted off for a convincing maiden victory.
Powerman was second and Crafty Zella Zeen (Anthony Thomas) third. The final time recorded by Tomohawk was a slow 1:02.2.
DaCosta was pleased with the performance but did admit that the final time was nothing to write home about.
“This performance was average at best, I mean 1:02.2 is nothing to rant and rave about right now but a win is a win, and so we are hopeful that he will improve in the future. He has scope to improve and he is bred to stay just like Drummer Boy and so maybe he will get the job done where his brother left off.
“Not quite sure where he goes from here but there is a new two-year-old race on the programme and we might go in there but still not quite sure where he ( Tomohawk) goes after this win,” DaCosta told The Supreme Racing Guide.
The win was DaCosta fourth from five two-year-old races this season. England’s Rose with two wins and Dejae’s Boy are his other winners in the juvenile races so far.
“Yes, I have made a good start in the juvenile races thus far, but the real two-year-olds haven’t come out to play as yet, so I am winning what I can win for the moment,” he offered.
