Hoist the Gold (Mineshaft) punched his ticket to the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint with an overdue first graded stakes win in Friday's 'Win and You're In' GII Stoll Keenon Odgen Phoenix S. at Keeneland.
He finished third in the GI Runhappy Malibu S. at Santa Anita last December and second in this year's GI Churchill Downs S. on the Kentucky Derby undercard. He fell just a neck short in this spring's GIII Commonwealth S. in Lexington. Last seen finishing a well-beaten sixth in the GII Pat O'Brien S. Aug. 26 at Del Mar, the Dream Team One Racing homebred was installed as a 6-1 shot here.
Riding the rail, the hooded colt backed off along the backstretch as G1SW Sibelius (Not This Time) and MSW Doctor Oscar (Shackleford) battled for the lead. Fanned three wide around the far turn, the Dallas Stewart trainee took over past the eighth pole and held off his pursuers to take home his first graded stakes win by 3/4 of a length. Nakatomi (Firing Line) was second.
“When you show up with a nice horse and a jock [John Velazquez] that's won five Grade Ones for you, you got a lot of confidence,” Stewart said. “I didn't worry about a thing down the backside. It played out perfect. He got him out. The horse loves this track.”
Pedigree Notes:
Mineshaft, sire of 17 crops of racing age, now has 61 stakes winners and 24 graded stakes winners to his credit. Hoist the Gold is the second to race out of Tacit Approval, who is also responsible for a yearling filly named Anakarina (Vekoma). She foaled a colt by Mucho Macho Man this year. Second dam Punch Appeal (Successful Appeal) is a multiple stakes winner.
The connections of #1 HOIST THE GOLD ($14.04) will be doing just that after winning the GII Phoenix Stakes at Keeneland!
The son of @LanesEndFarms's Mineshaft was ridden by @ljlmvel for @DallasStewart3 and Dream Team One Racing Stable. Congratulations to the connections! pic.twitter.com/dHfqg27gxz
— TVG (@TVG) October 6, 2023
Friday, Keeneland
STOLL KEENON OGDEN PHOENIX S.-GII, $349,375, Keeneland, 10-6, 3yo/up, 6f, 1:09.13, ft.
1–HOIST THE GOLD, 120, c, 4, by Mineshaft
1st Dam: Tacit Approval, by Tapit
2nd Dam: Punch Appeal, by Successful Appeal
3rd Dam: Okanagan Dawn, by Two Punch
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($47,000 RNA Ylg '20 KEESEP). O/B-Dream Team Racing (KY); T-Dallas Stewart; J-John R. Velazquez. $200,725. Lifetime Record: MGISP, 24-4-6-3, $804,547. Werk Nick Rating: F. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Nakatomi, 120, g, 4, Firing Line–Applelicious, by Flatter. ($18,000 Wlg '19 KEENOV; $25,000 Ylg '20 FTKOCT; $205,000 4yo '23 FTKHRA). O-Qatar Racing and Mrs. Fitriani Hay; B-Arnold Zetcher LLC & Crestwood Farm (KY); T-Wesley A. Ward. $64,750.
3–Bango, 120, h, 6, Congrats–Josaka, by Smart Strike. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O-Tamaroak Partners LLC; B-Tamaroak Stable (KY); T-Gregory D. Foley. $32,375.
Margins: 3/4, NK, 2. Odds: 6.02, 2.58, 3.38.
Also Ran: Necker Island, Sibelius, Gulfstream Way, Manny Wah, Doctor Oscar, Top Gunner, Voodoo Zip, Baytown Bear.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
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