Fans at Ellis Park were treated to a thriller on Saturday in the $200,000 KY Downs Preview Dueling Grounds Derby when favored Wadsworth overcame a troubled trip and held of late charges of Highway Robber and Anglophile to win his second consecutive stakes at 'the Pea Patch' in Henderson, Kentucky.
The race was one of three stakes on Saturday's card, the first day of the track's Kentucky Downs Preview Weekend.
A Godolphin homebred, Wadsworth didn't have the easiest journey, and jockey Florent Geroux was forced to overcome traffic into the first turn of the 1 1/8-mile turf contest.
The fleet-footed Worthington led the field of 11 3-year-olds into the first turn while being pressured by Act a Fool and Tall Boy. Geroux had Wadsworth positioned ninth in the first turn after checking several times between horses. Up the backside, Worthington was able to shake clear of his pace-pressing rivals and continued to lead the field through a swift half-mile in :46.19.
While Worthington was winging it on the lead, Geroux attempted to improve Wadsworth's position but he was in a tight spot in the four-path. At the half-mile pole, Wadsworth found an opening while pacesetter Worthington began to retreat back to the field. Around the far turn, Geroux tipped Wadsworth in the six path while Highway Robber was splitting horses and Anglophile found a seam at the rail. In the final strides, Wadsworth prevailed in a blanket three-horse photo by a head.
“This trip wasn't as smooth as my victory on Bay Storm (one race earlier in the $200,000 KY Downs Preview Mint Ladies Turf Sprint),” Geroux said. “Wadsworth overcame a lot in this race and showed a lot of tenacity down the lane. In the first turn I got shut off. I kept going wide around the turn and was checked again when I tried to improve my position going onto the backside. I hit the front a little early in the stretch and he was kind of looking around a little bit. This was his first time going this far. It's tough to get a gage on a horse in this type of situation if they can handle the distance because he had such a tough trip. I'm proud of him and the credit goes to trainer Brad Cox's team.”
“He's a horse we always had high hopes for,” assistant trainer Trace Messina said of the Quality Road gelding out of the Medaglia d'Oro mare Dickinson. “We brought him to Saratoga with us last summer and it took us a bit to figure out what he really wanted to do. We thought grass may be in his future since he's out of the mare Dickinson. We found out what he likes to do and he's enjoying it.”
Wadsworth ($3.76) notched his fourth career victory in the KY Downs Preview Dueling Grounds Derby. He completed 1 1/8 miles in 1:46.30 over the firm going.
With his victory he earned an automatic berth to the $1-million Dueling Grounds Derby (G3) at Kentucky Downs.
In the KY Downs Preview Mint Ladies Turf Sprint, Bridlewood Farm's Bay Storm squeezed through an opening at the rail and was able to hold off the late charge of Quaria Comet to win by a neck.
Geroux rode Bay Storm, a 5-year-old Kantharos mare out of the Midshipman mare Stormy Regatta, for trainer Jonathan Thomas. The duo completed 5 ½ furlongs over the firm turf in 1:01.24.
Bay Storm ($5.12) improved to 5-6-3 from 16 career starts and boosted her lifetime bankroll to $708,755. She was bred in Kentucky by Candy Meadows LLC and sold for $400,000 out of the Woodford Thoroughbreds consignment at the 2020 OBS Spring sale of 2-year-old in training.
Storyteller Racing's Hozier prevailed in a long stretch drive to win the $200,00 KY Downs Preview Mint Millions Turf Mile.
Hozier is trained by Rodolphe Brisset and was ridden to victory by Alex Achard. The duo completed one-mile in 1:34.28 on firm turf.
The pace was slow to develop and Minnesota Ready inherited the lead into the first turn. Hozier was rating in fifth and continued to stay in position as the field completed a half mile in a reasonable :48.29. The pace began to quicken around the far turn as Big Dreaming made the lead after Minnesota Ready retreated. Hozier remained at the rail until the field reached the top of the stretch and Achard tipped the gelding four-wide. It wasn't until the final stages of the race that Hozier was able to find the front end while holding Fuerteventura at bay by a half-length.
Hozier ($10.76) boosted his overall record to 5-4-2 from 23 starts and improved his lifetime earnings to $739,365.
A 5-year-old gelded son of Pioneerof the Nile out of the Henny Hughes mare Merry Meadow, Hozier was bred in Kentucky by WinStar Farm.
Ellis Park's Kentucky Downs Preview Weekend continues Sunday with four stakes, including the Pucker Up (G3).
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