Former classic starter Raise Cain prevailed by a head over Dr. Venkman after a stretch-long duel in the $250,000 Perryville on Saturday at Keeneland.
Trained by Ben Colebrook and ridden by Luis Saez, Raise Cain covered the seven furlongs on a fast main track in 1:23.58.
Verifying and Confidence Game zipped an opening half-mile in :45.69 with Dr. Venkman racing three-wide just behind the leaders and Raise Cain saving ground in fourth.
On the turn, Dr. Venkman went after the top two with Raise Cain tipping off the inside and moving just behind Dr. Venkman.
At the top of the stretch, those two hooked up with Raise Cain owning the initial momentum to stick his head in front only to have Dr. Venkman battle back to hold a narrow edge through the lane until Raise Cain pushed by for good in the final 20 yards.
Andrew and Rania Warren's Raise Cain is a Kentucky-bred son of Violence out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Lemon Belle. Winner of the one-mile Gotham (G3) by 7 1/2 lengths at 25-1 odds this spring at Aqueduct, he was unplaced in the Kentucky Derby (G1). The Perryville marked his second stakes victory and improved his record to 13-3-2-1 while boosting his earnings to $577,066 with Saturday's $153,063 check.
“His only wins were around one turn,” Colebrook said. “He got us to the (Kentucky) Derby and he's been such an overachieving horse, he really deserved it. I think (jockey) Luis Saez made the difference. He rode him great. I mean, all the riders have ridden him well, but Luis gives you that just extra little bit. That's probably what we needed today.”
Andrew Warren paid $180,000 to acquire Raise Cain at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, where Warrendale Sales consigned him.
Raise Cain returned $14.88 for the win. Dr. Venkman, sent off as the favorite under John Velazquez, finished 1¼ lengths in front of Post Time in third.
It was another 5½ lengths back to Loyal Company with Verifying and Confidence Game completing the order of finish.
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