Twenty percent of his career starts have come in the Grade 2 Shakertown Stakes at Keeneland in the Spring, and this Saturday, the 7-year-old Bound For Nowhere made a big late run to win by a nose as the 2-1 favorite. The son of the The Factor has now run his record in the Shakertown to 2-1-1, with his previous win coming in 2018; he was second and third by a neck in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
Owned and trained by Wesley Ward, Bound For Nowhere ran the 5 1/2 furlongs over the turf rated “good” in 1:02.19. Joel Rosario, winning his third race on the card, had to work out a trip from the outside stall in a field of 12 rivals, but had the older horse flying late to run down Imprimis, the 2019 Shakertown winner, by a nose.
“He's a really hard horse to train,” Ward said. “He's got a lot of issues that he's overcome. Just minor deals, but major setbacks when you're trying to keep him at this level. I've got to give all the credit to his rider who rides him every day, Julio Garcia, who's ridden him the majority of his career. He was supposed to ride him today and he said, 'No Wesley I'm officially retired.' But he's on him every day for all these years, and I can't thank that little fella enough.”
Imprimis broke out of the gates ahead of the start, but was cleared by the state veterinarian to re-load and start. Johnny Unleashed and The Critical Way were sharpest off the blocks, speeding through a first quarter in :21.42. Imprimis was in fifth position near the inside, while Bound For Nowhere was about eight lengths off the leaders and five wide.
The Critical Way and Johnny Unleashed stayed on strong until mid-stretch, but Imprimis had found clear room on the outside and took command at the sixteenth pole. Bound For Nowhere had perfect aim on him, though, and laid his heart down to get his nose down on the wire. Imprimis settled for second with The Critical Way Third, and Johnny Unleased fourth.
Bound For Nowhere has now won nine of his 15 lifetime starts, earning just shy of $1 million. Bred in Kentucky by Wayne, Gray, and Bryan Lyster, Bound for Nowhere is out of the Alydeed mare Fancy Deed, herself a half sister to multimillion-dollar earner Midnight Lute.
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