After a lengthy period of pre-race antics from morning-line favorite Smile Happy, who had to be cajoled by a pair of outriders into backing up an entire sixteenth of a mile to get him to the Ellis Park starting gate, bettors opted to send West Will Power off as the 2-1 favorite for Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million Stephen Foster.
Those late wagers proved prophetic: West Will Power outran his seven rivals to cross the wire a half-length in front, earning an expenses-paid berth to the Breeders' Cup Classic this fall at Santa Anita Park. Campaigned by breeders Gary and Mary West, the 6-year-old son of Bernardini stalked a solid pace early and grabbed the lead on the far turn, holding off a late challenge from Rattle N Roll to complete nine furlongs over the fast main track in 1:47.93.
West Will Power had arrived at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby weekend off an impressive win in the Fair Grounds' G2 New Orleans Stakes, but his start in the May 5 Alysheba (G2) left something to be desired. Required to set the pace under pressure that and eventually fading to finish third, the horse's outside (six-post) draw for the Stephen Foster allowed for a much-improved race setup. Trainer Brad Cox said that advantage helped jockey Flavien Prat and West Will Power stay on for victory in his first Grade 1 triumph.
“It's taken a while to get him to the Grade 1 level,” said Cox. “He probably relaxes a little better when he's got something to the inside of him, rather than getting pressure from the outside.”
“He was cruising all the way around there,” Prat said. “He just carried me home to the wire down the stretch. I was really impressed by the way he won this winter at Fair Grounds in the New Orleans Classic (G2). It was a different setup last time out in the Alysheba (G2). He came back here to Ellis and the race shape was much more to his style.”
The Stephen Foster, typically held at Churchill Downs, was contested this year at Ellis Park due to a string of equine fatalities and subsequent HISA recommendation that moved the remainder of the Churchill Spring Meet to the CDI-owned Ellis in Henderson, Ky. This was the first Grade 1 race held at Ellis Park.
Breaking from post six in the field of eight, West Will Power was sharp out of the gate and rushed up to join a three-way battle for the lead into the clubhouse turn. To his inside was both Stiletto Boy and Speed Bias, though the former dropped back to third and allowed Speed Bias to take a one-length advantage into the backstretch run.
West Will Power stalked from second as Speed Bias set fractions of 23.74 and 46.97 seconds, with another two lengths back to Stiletto Boy and Smile Happy a joint third. That quartet was followed by Last Samurai, Rattle N Roll, Proxy, and Happy American.
Rounding the far turn, West Will Power easily took command from Speed Bias and sprinted away to a two-length advantage, getting first run on his rivals.
It appeared to be a race for second from that point, with any of six contenders able to secure the place, but Rattle N Roll (6-1) put in a gallant late bid from the back of the pack to come up just a half-length short of the winner. Longshot Happy American (48-1) got up for third, while Last Samurai checked in fourth (13-1). Smile Happy, Stilleto Boy, Speed Bias, and Proxy rounded out the order of finish.
Bred in Kentucky by his owners, West Will Power is out of the Wild Event mare Wild Promises, a 13-time winner with six stakes wins and a Grade 3 win on her resume. She is a half sister to multiple graded stakes winning near-millionaire Icy Atlantic.
West Will Power did not debut until late in his 3-year-old season, putting up three wins and a graded stakes placing before missing nearly a year from late 2021 to the fall of 2022. Since his return to the races, West Will Power has finished no worse than third, including a second in the G1 Clark last fall and now his first Grade 1 victory. Overall, West Will Power has won seven of his 17 career starts, with seven second-place finishes, for earnings of $1,745,390.
“I think he can handle a mile-and-a-quarter in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1),” Cox said. “I was much more confident with him getting a target to track off in this race. We'll see how the figures come back but I'm very proud of the way this horse has developed. It's a credit to the Wests and this horse to have the patience to improve with age. It's taken him awhile to get to this level. It's really cool to go down in the history books by winning the first Grade 1 in the history of Ellis Park.”
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