Some of the toughest victories to knock out seem to come during a countdown to a landmark. And when trainer Eddie Kenneally earned his 1,000th career victory Saturday at the RUNHAPPY Meet at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., his 3-year-old He's Pretty Lucky kept the outcome in suspense until right before the wire.
With jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. wearing Kenneally's navy silks emblazoned with a beige K, the newly gelded He's Pretty Lucky pressed front-running favorite Futuro before dispatching that rival late in the stretch. Just when Kenneally's milestone seemed in the bag, Stone Slinger loomed on the outside and appeared poised to go past before coming up a head short in the off-the-turn mile $10,000 maiden-claiming race. It was He's Pretty Lucky's second race for the ownership partnership of Kenneally and Shaun McCarthy.
“Let me tell you, they'll all hard to win,” Kenneally said after the winner's circle presentation. “We were hoping to knock it out at Churchill, because that's our home track. But we're delighted to get it done here at Ellis Park. We finally got over the milestone. It took a long time. I've been doing this a long time.
“We've been fortunate. We've had some very good horses over the years. We've had some very good people work for us. Not just now, but in the past we've had a lot of good people come through. You can't do it on your own. You need the help, you need the horses. It's got to be set up. Thankfully we've had a very good career.”
The Irish-born Kenneally's first full year of training was 1994. His 35 graded-stakes victories include Grade 1 wins with Kelly's Landing (Dubai Golden Shaheen), Bradester (Stephen Foster), Bushfire (Ashland, Acorn, Mother Goose), Sailor's Valentine (Ashland), and Abscond (Natalma).
Kenneally's horses have earned more than $42 million in purses.
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