Smokin' T grabbed the lead with a furlong to run and drew clear late to win Saturday's 44th running of the $289,858 River City (G3) at Churchill Downs by 1¾ lengths over Harlan Estate.
Smokin' T, a homebred for Diana Ryan's DATTT Stable, ran 1 1/8 miles over a Matt Winn Turf Course in 1:50.66 rated as good to defeat 11 other 3-year-olds and older.
Breaking from post No. 6 in the field of 12 under John Velazquez, Smokin' T relaxed just off the early leaders down the backstretch in midpack as Dominican Pioneer dictated the early pace through fractions of :23.33, :47.96, and 1:13.25 through six furlongs. Leaving the final turn, Smokin' T ranged into contention with a five-wide move and quickly met the leaders in upper stretch. Velazquez waited to drop his hands to ask Smokin' T for his best run with three-sixteenths of a mile to run and the 4-year-old War Front colt responded by darting past the fading Dominican Pioneer. Harlan Estate and Siege of Boston, who both raced far back early on, made late runs in deep stretch but they were no match for Smokin' T.
“He sometimes wastes a lot of energy early in the race pulling but he was better today,” Velazquez said of Smokin' T, who is trained by Shug McGaughey. “He got a good pace setup which helped him as well. He's improved all year long and ran very well today.”
Smokin' T returned $10.54 for the win as the 4-1 second betting choice.
Harlan Estate, off at 15-1, outfinished Siege of Boston by a neck for second.
Grand Sonata, Dominican Pioneer, Injunction, 3-1 favorite Rockemperor (IRE), Red Run, Kitodan, F Five, Cellist and Stitched completed the order of finish. Accredit, Beatbox and Street Ready were scratched.
The victory for Smokin' T was worth $174,150 and increased his earnings to $700,460. He boasts a record of 5-1-6 in 18 starts. Earlier this year, Smokin' T won the listed Fasig-Tipton Lure at Saratoga, which was his first stakes victory.
“He's always been a bit head strong in the early part of his races,” said Reeve McGaughey, assistant to his father. “I think he did a better job relaxing today and not wasting as much energy. We thought this distance would suit him better. It was also nice to see him finish well once he got in front. At Kentucky Downs two starts ago he sort of hung a little bit. He's had a solid year and likes this track here at Churchill.”
This marked Shug McGaughey's second River City victory. He won the seventh renewal in 1984 with Eminency when the race was carded at one mile on the main track.
Kentucky-bred Smokin' T was produced by the Ghostzapper mare Wine Princess.
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