Peter Cantrell's Call Me Midnight sprang a 28-1 upset in Saturday's Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes, flying from the back of the pack to nip pacesetter Epicenter (8-5) by a nose on the wire. The 3-year-old son of Midnight Lute, ridden by James Graham for trainer Keith Desormeaux, completed 1 1/16 miles over the Fair Grounds' fast main track in 1:44.36. The victory earned Call Me Midnight 10 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.
Call Me Midnight broke his maiden in his fifth career start with a last-to-first run at Churchill Downs on Nov. 13, but ran poorly next out when seventh in the G2 Kentucky Jockey Club on Nov. 27.
“I convinced myself the wrong way to run him back quickly in Louisville,” Desormeaux said. “I wanted to give him another start over the track, but it was ill-conceived… What gives you confidence is the horse's confidence. He was exuding thusly today. He was very calm in the paddock.”
Last-out winner of the Gun Runner Stakes at the Fair Grounds, Epicenter broke sharply and demanded the lead under jockey Joel Rosario. Initially pressed by Surfer Dude through a quarter in 23.40 seconds, Epicenter pulled away to lead by a length and cover the first half in :47.01. Blue Kentucky was up close early, and race-favorite (3-2) Pappacap, last-out second in the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, moved up the inside to fourth down the backstretch.
Meanwhile, Call Me Midnight was content to trail from second-last early under Graham. He began picking up rivals around the far turn, and Graham decided on the overland route while maintaining momentum on the outside of his rivals.
Pappacap made his way up the rail to encroach on Epicenter's lead at the head of the lane, but Epicenter never allowed himself to be passed on the inside. However, Call Me Midnight and Graham were in the midst of a huge rally down the center of the racetrack and were just able to catch Epicenter in the final strides.
At the finish it was Call Me Midnight by a nose over Epicenter, with Pappacap just a half-length back in third. Trafalgar finished fourth.
Bred in Kentucky by Hartwell Farm, Call Me Midnight is out of the unraced First Defence mare Overseen. As a weanling, the colt brought a final bid of $25,000 from Milton Lopez at Keeneland November. Unsold for $37,000 at the Keeneland September yearling sale, Call Me Midnight returned to the sales ring at OBS October and brought $17,000 from Team Work Horseman Group. Desormeaux selected the colt for Cantrell the next March at OBS, paying $80,000 for the Navas Equine-consignee.
With two wins from seven starts, Call Me Midnight has earned just over $220,000. It was also the first graded stakes win for Cantrell.
The post Call Me Midnight Flies Late, Nails Epicenter At The Line For 28-1 Upset In Lecomte appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
