Weston takes Best Pal S. (G2) to become Hit It A Bomb’s first stakes winner

Hit It a Bomb got his first stakes winner Saturday at Del Mar when Weston overtook Girther in the final strides of the $150,000 Best Pal S. (G2) to win the six-furlong contest for 2-year-olds by a neck.

Weston, who was his sire’s first winner in a June 21 maiden special weight debut at Santa Anita, upped his earnings to $120,000 and has propelled Hit It a Bomb to the top-five on the 2020 First-Crop Sire list.

Weston was on top at the break, but relinquished the lead to Roderick, who led through a quarter-mile in :21.78. Weston was never more than a length from the front. Girther snuck up the inside and took the lead with three furlongs to run. Weston was glued to his outside, and the two raced down the stretch together, with Weston forging past to stop the clock in 1:12.72.

“I didn’t think I could get by,” said Ryan Hanson, who trains and co-owns Weston with Chris Drakos. “(Girther) horse had an out on this track and that’s huge. It’s deep and tiring.”

Weston was bred in Kentucky bye EVADI Farm Team. His dam Elke was multiple stakes-placed and his third dam Trumpet’s Blare was a Grade 1 winner

Hanson said Weston will be considered for the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity at seven furlongs on Sept. 7