Peachtree Stable's Tawny Port drove past the leader with a sixteenth of a mile to run and tallied his first win on dirt in style Saturday in the $400,000 Stonestreet Lexington Stakes (G2) at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky.
The son of Pioneerof the Nile, who secured a spot in the Kentucky Derby (G1) starting gate earlier in the day with the defection of ailing Slow Down Andy, earned an additional 20 qualifying points for the Louisville classic with a one-length triumph while finishing the 1 1/16 mile Lexington in 1:45.24 on a fast track.
The final stop on the road to the Kentucky Derby (G1), the Lexington offered qualifying points on a 20-8-4-2 basis to the top four finishers. Tawny Port entered Saturday's race with 40 points.
With Florent Geroux aboard for trainer Brad Cox, Tawny Port overcame a wide trip throughout after tracking in fifth and then getting shuffled back to eighth as runner-up Major General set early fractions of :23.85 and :48.01 through the opening half mile,
Advancing back to fifth as six furlongs went in 1:12.45, Tawny Port was roused into contention along the far turn and was still four wide into the stretch. Launching a late strong late bid, he drove past a stubborn Major General with an eighth to run and prevailed for a first stakes win.
Major General held second, 1 1/2 lengths in front of third-place finisher In Due Time.
Tawny Port returned $12.
Tawny Port, who had raced almost exclusively on Turfway Park's synthetic surface, came into Saturday's race off a runner-up finish in the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) at the Northern Kentucky track April 2 after finishing fifth in the Risen Star Stakes (G2) Feb. 19 at Fair Grounds in his first try on dirt.
“He needed the race. (The Risen Star) was his only (previous) start on the dirt (and the race) was definitely the key (prep for) the Kentucky Derby (G1),” Geroux said. “It looked like every horse who ran in there all came back and ran some very strong races, so we were hoping to do the same thing. (Tawny Port did) that today, in a very powerful way at the high end on the dirt. Looks like the distance should be no problem, and I hope the connections will take a swing at (the Derby).”
Updated Kentucky Derby/Oaks leaderboard
Cox said there was a little bit of a question mark with how well Tawny Port would handle the dirt.
“He ran well at the Fair Grounds,” he said. “Florent came back and had positive comments after that race, and I thought, 'Well, you know, right now, maybe you try to go in the Jeff Ruby Steaks.' So that's what we did, and he ran a real respectable race. Then we found ourselves nominated to this race and it worked out today.”
As for a Kentucky Derby bid, Cox said: “We'll see how he comes out of (today's race). I'd like to congratulate (owners) John and Elizabeth Fort (of Peachtree Stable). This was John's idea, to come back in two weeks immediately after the Jeff Ruby. He said, 'We need to look at this race,' and I said, 'Well, I nominated him.' We watched him and he seemed to have a great energy level and his weight's great. He's a good-looking colt – really good-looking. (John Fort) picked him out.”
Tawny Port was sold to Fort for $430,000 out of the Machmer Hall Sales consignment at the 2020 Keeneland September yearling sale.
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