Walkathon won her third consecutive race and first graded stakes Saturday when capturing the $200,000 Regret (G3) in her stakes debut at Churchill Downs.
Longshot Lola Flo sprinted out to lead early while Walkathon stalked from second, about 1 ½ lengths back, through fractions of :24.19 and :48.46 through a half mile.
Beside Herself chased from third with 4-5 favorite McKulick rating just behind. After six furlongs 1:12.91, Walkathon dispatched Lola Flo at the quarter pole and set sail for home with comfortable advantage under Julien Leparoux.
Walkathon widened her lead to three lengths with a furlong to run but McKulick was full of run and gaining ground. The winner was too good, however, and crossed the finish line 1 ¼ lengths to the good of McKulick, who was 6 1/4 lengths clear of third-place finisher Beside Herself.
Time for 1 1/8 miles on firm turf was 1:49.26.
Walkathon returned $7.20.
Trained by Ian Wilkes for owner-breeder Whitham Thoroughbreds, Walkathon improved to 3-2-0 from seven career starts and boosted her lifetime bankroll to $290,341.
With her victory, Walkathon provided jockey Julien Leparoux his 1,000th Churchill Downs victory, a milestone shared by only four other riders.
“It feels great and I'm glad to get it done today for Ian,” Leparoux said. “I've ridden for him for about 15 years now and it's special to be able to get this milestone with him. I can't really pick a moment that stands out above the others for the 1,000 wins, but I'm very thankful for everyone who's gotten me this far.”
Leparoux joined Pat Day (2,482 Churchill Downs wins), Calvin Borel (1,232), Robby Albarado (1,192), and Corey Lanerie (1,169) in a select group of jockeys to reach the 1,000-win milestone at Churchill Downs.
Walkathon was Leparoux's 2,872nd career win. His more than 16,000 lifetime mounts have amassed more than $182 million.
Walkathon broke her maiden by two lengths in late April at Keeneland in her first turf try. She returned May 14 at Churchill where she bested 10 rivals by 1 ¼ lengths in a first-level allowance event and kept her momentum going Saturday.
A daughter of Twirling Candy, she was produced by the Stroll mare Walkabout.
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