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Jade's Revenge takes Ben Ali in four-way photo Bushwood Stables' JADE'S REVENGE (Quiet American) prevailed by a whisker after a stirring stretch drive in Thursday's $150,000 Ben Ali S. (G3). The Graham Motion charge tracked the pace beneath Kent Desormeaux, took command entering the stretch and just held off the hard-charging Minister's Joy (Deputy Minister) by the slimmest of margins at the wire, with Mustanfar (Unbridled) another nose back in third and Stream Cat (Black Minnaloushe) another neck away in fourth. The final time for nine furlongs on Keeneland's Polytrack was 1:49 4/5. "I felt this was a huge step up today," Motion said. "It was a very competitive field. This horse has done a 360 on the Polytrack. He trained great on the Tapeta at home (Fair Hill), and that's what gave us the inclination." "Graham gave me perfect instructions," Desormeaux said. "He thought the horse was kind of one-paced. (He said), 'If you get to slow it down, take it to 'em early.' We took it to them at the half and he was the one who ran them into the ground and sustained at the end. He was a great coach today." In the early going, Jade's Revenge settled in third as 6-5 favorite Chatain (Forest Wildcat) led the way through an opening quarter in :25. Eccentric (GB) (Most Welcome [GB]), who had been vying with Chatain, then assumed sole leadership through splits of :49 4/5 and 1:13 4/5. Jade's Revenge swept to the fore leaving the far turn, but he would have to repel a series of challengers to retain his advantage in the stretch. Stream Cat ranged up alongside, and Mustanfar kept inching ever closer himself, but the winner managed to hold them at bay. In deep stretch, Minister's Joy made the most eye-catching move of all, accelerating smartly after altering course to the outside, but he just missed at the line. Sent off as the third-longest shot on the board at 26-1, Jade's Revenge returned $54.20, $22 and $13.40. The 14-1 Minister's Joy gave back $13 and $9 while ending the $702 exacta. Mustanfar paid $9 at 13-1, rounding out the $6,423 trifecta. The 9-6-8-10 superfecta, with the 6-1 Stream Cat on the bottom, totaled $59,754.20. Rathor (Ire) (Machiavellian) crossed the wire in fifth, followed by Palladio (Lycius), Saint Stephen (Saint Ballado), Chatain, Eccentric, Welcome Again (Awesome Again) and Greeley's Legacy (Mr. Greeley). Better Than Bonds (Sweetsouthernsaint) was withdrawn. Jade's Revenge now sports a mark of 18-5-3-7 with a bankroll worth $219,948. The four-year-old bay had sunk to the $40,000 claiming level last fall, but his form has turned around this year, especially on Polytrack. In his first try on the surface, he drove to a 1 3/4-length score in the Tejano Run S. at Turfway Park. With his first graded victory in the Ben Ali, Jade's Revenge is now unbeaten from two starts on Polytrack. Bred in Kentucky by Falls Church Racing Stables, the winner was produced by the winning Valid Appeal mare Valnesian, who is also the dam of stakes-placed Lucky Pen (Pentelicus). His second dam, the winning Kanska (Boldnesian), is a full sister to 1971 Withers S. and Jersey Derby hero Bold Reasoning, later famous as the sire of Seattle Slew.
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