Arrest Me Red On Track For Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint After Win At Belmont

Lael Stables' homebred Arrest Me Red, a 3-year-old Pioneerof the Nile colt, bested his elders with a gate-to-wire score in Saturday's Grade 3 Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational at six furlongs over the firm inner turf.

With Irad Ortiz, Jr. up for trainer Wesley Ward, Arrest Me Red set splits of 22.33 seconds and 45.75 en route to a one-length win in a final time of 1:07.86.

Arrest Me Red made his first four starts for trainer Arnaud Delacour, including a score in the six-furlong Atlantic Beach in November on the Big A turf.

Transferred to Ward's care at Keeneland for a sophomore campaign, the sizable colt breezed six times over the main track before the conditioner shipped him to Saratoga where he trained forwardly on the Oklahoma training turf.

Arrest Me Red made his seasonal debut with a neck score in the Mahony at 5 1/2-furlongs on the Saratoga turf.

“He's a beautiful horse. We got him here at Keeneland and he had several workouts but wasn't very impressive at all,” Ward said. “He was getting outworked and for a big, sturdy bugger you'd expect a lot more because he's a sturdy and imposing-type horse. He's like a big tank. I put him with just average horses and they bested him in the mornings.

“We got him up to Saratoga on the turf and away he went,” Ward continued. “There's horses-for-courses and horses-for-surfaces and this guy is a grass specialist.”

Ward said he was pleased with Saturday's effort and that Arrest Me Red will now point to the G1, $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, a five-furlong test on Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

“It's nice when a plan comes through,” Ward said. “He came out of the race great and scoped clean, so off we go.”

Ward is likely to have a big presence in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint with Golden Pal, Campanelle and Kimari all under consideration.

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Arrest Me Red Changes Gears, Takes Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational In Front-Running Style

Arrest Me Red has previously found success sitting just behind early leaders, but a change in running style proved just the ticket to win the Grade 3 Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational on Oct. 2. Irad Ortiz Jr. took the 3-year-old to the front, fighting Backtohisroots and Pulsate for early command and flattened out to keep clear of Pulsate's late charge in the stretch, as well as a closing effort from Chewing Gum.

Wesley Ward took over training of the 3-year-old colt ahead of his last start, a win in the Mahony Stakes at Saratoga, from Arnaud Delacour. The son of Pioneerof the Nile is a homebred for Roy and Gretchen Jackson's Lael Stables. He is out of Medaglio d'Oro mare Maraschino Red. His previous credits with Delacour include a win in the Atlantic Beach Stakes.

The final time for the six furlongs was 1:07.86, with fractional times of :22.33, :47.75, and :56.80.

Arrest Me Red paid $6.60 to win. Pulsate was second, and Chewing Gum was third. See the full chart here.

G3 Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational Quotes

Irad Ortiz, Jr., winning jockey aboard Arrest Me Red (No. 2, $6.60): “He relaxed so well. He did everything right, honestly. He broke well from the gate, and I just stayed quiet and relaxed. I was on the front, so I just was biding my time to go. He was travelling perfectly and when I asked him to run, he responded really well. [Trainer] Wesley [Ward] did a great job with him. He's a great guy to ride for.”

Manny Franco, aboard runner-up Pulsate (No. 6): “He was second best. I had a good trip. No excuses. The winner just kept going.”

Eric Cancel, aboard third-place finisher Chewing Gum (No. 7): “I rode him once before and he likes to sit and make one run. That was the same scenario today, so I just tried to keep him in the clear and keep him comfortable and just make one run from the quarter-pole down.”

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