At the end of a grueling stretch duel with several potential victors, Never Explain gained a half-length advantage and set a new Pimlico Race Course track record on Saturday with an upset victory in the Grade 3 Dinner Party Stakes.
The 5-year-old son of Street Sense was placed in the middle of the pack a couple paths off the rail by jockey Flavien Prat, while Atone and Emmanuel battled for the early lead through an opening quarter in :23.85 seconds. Atone, who broke from the rail, held onto that position through the first turn, and emerged from the backstretch with a one-length advantage over Emmanuel.
Those two rivals continued to put distance on third-place Rising Empire through a half-mile in :47.40, and the order did little changing across the backstretch, and after three-quarters in 1:11.23.
Atone continued to benefit from the rail trip, and it appeared as if he was beginning to dispose of Emmanuel as they hit the top of the stretch, but that rival began coming back to the leader in the stretch, and he was joined by Speaking Scout, Never Explain, and post time favorite Hurricane Dream on the far outside.
Prat, who had settled on the rail behind the two leaders through the final turn, had swung three paths wide in the stretch, and under right-handed urging, Never Explain emerged at the front of the five-horse battle at the wire to win by a half-length. Hurricane Dream was second on the outside, while Emmanuel held on for third.
Never Explain stopped the clock in the 1 1/8 race in 1:46.14 over a firm turf course, bettering the previous record of 1:46.34 set by the Irish-born Mr. O'Brien in the 2004 Dixie Stakes, which was later renamed to the Dinner Party.
The colt paid $32.40 to win as the longest shot on the board in his stakes debut for owner Courtlandt Farm and trainer Shug McGaughey. It was his third straight victory after taking a pair of optional claiming races on the turf at Tampa Bay Downs in January and March.
Saturday's victory improved Never Explain's lifetime record to five wins in 15 starts for earnings of $242,062.
Never Explain was bred in Kentucky by Hidden Brook Farm and Godolphin, out of the stakes-placed Forestry mare Black Oak. He sold to Courtlandt Farm for $475,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, consigned by Woods Edge Farm. Before that, he sold as a weanling for $155,000 at the 2018 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, from the Hidden Brook Farm consignment.
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