Bass Racing homebred Annapolis, a 3-year-old son of War Front, earned an expenses-paid berth to the Breeders' Cup Mile with his win over elder rivals in Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million Turf Mile at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Ky. It was the third win of the day for jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., and second for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.
Settled inside in third early, Annapolis angled out around the far turn and grabbed the lead into the lane. He continued to pull away from the rest of the field, including five individual Grade 1 winners, to win by 1 1/2 lengths at post-time odds of 6-1. Annapolis' final time for a mile over the firm turf was 1:33.29, a new stakes record. It was also Annapolis' first Grade 1 victory.
“It's pretty impossible to put this (victory) into words,” said Perry Bass, who co-owns the horse with his mother, Ramona Bass. “A huge thanks to the team who raised him from Day 1 and brought him along this far – the trainer (Todd Pletcher), (jockey) Irad (Ortiz Jr.) – we could go on and on.
“(This win is) the pinnacle. (My mother and I) talk about (the racehorses) daily. We fret daily. The lows are the worst, and the highs … I've never experienced a high like this.”
Bred in Kentucky by his owners, Annapolis is out of the Unbridled's Song mare My Miss Sophia, a Grade 2 winner on the dirt and Grade 1-placed on both the dirt and the turf, including a runner-up finish in the Kentucky Oaks. My Miss Sophia was sold with Annapolis in utero at the 2018 Keeneland November sale, commanding a final bid of $4 million from the Bass family.
Annapolis won both his starts as a juvenile, concluding his season with a win in the G2 Pilgrim. This year, the colt kicked off his campaign with a runner-up finish over very soft turf in the G2 Penn Mile, then came back to win the listed Manila Stakes before a second place finish to Nations Pride in the G1 Saratoga Derby. Annapolis won the G3 Saranac last month, and continued that winning streak against a solid field in the G1 Turf Mile. Overall, the colt's resume stands at five wins and two seconds from seven starts for earnings of $1,166,100.
“Very impressive,” Ortiz said of Saturday's run from Annapolis. “It's not easy to win against these horses. We had Santin, we had Masen (GB), we had so many good horses in this race, the O'Brien horse (Order of Australia). He's only a 3-year-old but he's doing so good right now. I think he has ability. He's a nice horse.”
Ivar, winner of this race in 2020, closed from well off the pace to get second, finishing a nose in front of Order of Australia, winner of the 2020 Breeders' Cup Mile. The remaining order of finish was as follows: Set Piece, Casa Creed, Masen, Classic Causeway, Atone, Santin, Grey's Fable, and Somelikeithotbrown.
The post ‘I’ve Never Experienced A High Like This’: Sophomore Annapolis Defeats Elder Rivals In ‘Win And You’re In’ Turf Mile appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
