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Ascertain finds path to glory in Elkhorn Mrs. S.K. Johnston Jr., Dr. Gene Voss and Paul Dixon's ASCERTAIN (Ire) (Intikhab) surged to the front at the top of the stretch and withstood the late thrust of Always First (GB) (Barathea [Ire]) to capture Friday's $200,000 Elkhorn S. (G3), Keeneland's closing day feature. With Jamie Theriot aboard, the Niall O'Callaghan trainee earned his first stakes score by completing 1 1/2 miles on good turf in 2:30 2/5. Ascertain adopted a perfect position in the opening stages, stalking in second as Transduction Gold (Formal Gold) waltzed through splits of :26, :51 1/5, 1:16 2/5 and 1:41 3/5. Leaving the final turn, Theriot gave his mount the cue, and the chestnut quickly responded. Ascertain bounded to the lead and began to wander a bit when all by himself. Always First, who had been rating far off the pace, stormed home late, but Ascertain found just enough to deny his spirited rally by a neck. "Jamie gave him a great ride," O'Callaghan said. "(Ascertain's) had some layoffs in his life. He's had some problems over the years, but he's never been better." Dispatched as the 7-1 fourth choice in the 12-horse field, Ascertain returned $17.20, $9 and $6.20. Always First, the third choice at odds of 6-1, paid $7.60 and $5.60. It was another three-quarters of a length back to Drilling for Oil (Giant's Causeway), a 20-1 longshot who yielded $10 to show. The exotics were worth $126.60 (exacta), $1,921.60 (trifecta), and $24,802.80 (8-4-2-7 superfecta) with the 16-1 Transduction Gold another half-length astern in fourth. Cloudy's Knight (Lord Avie), the nearly 3-1 favorite, got up for fifth, a full six lengths ahead of Ramazutti (Honor Grades). Defending champion Pellegrino (Brz) (Nugget Point [Ire]) checked in seventh, trailed by Hard Deck (Boundary), Spider Power (Ire) (Royal Applause [GB]), Bee Charmer (Ire) (Anabaa), Last Answer (Langfuhr) and Jazil (Seeking the Gold), last year's Belmont S. (G1) winner who was making his turf debut. The also-eligible Fri Guy (Theatrical [Ire]) did not draw into the field. Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said that Jazil would likely revert to the main track for his next start. "It's a shame that in his first time on turf, the turf was yielding, and since it was the last day of the meet, it was pretty chewed up," McLaughlin said. "But he just didn't run well. This (the grass) was an experiment. If he'd liked it, it would have given us more options. But we'll probably go back to the dirt." Ascertain has now bankrolled $374,232 from a record of 23-7-3-1. The six-year-old gelding first raced in England, where he won three of four outings on the all weather at Lingfield for trainer Nick Littmoden. After winding up fifth in the 2004 U.A.E. Derby (UAE-G2), Ascertain took up residence stateside with O'Callaghan. He failed to handle the dirt, but his form turned around dramatically when switched to the turf last year. In his only prior try at the 12-furlong distance, Ascertain finished a close third in the Stars and Stripes Breeders' Cup Turf H. (G3) in July. He was coming off a two-length allowance tally over the Keeneland turf. Bred by Darley in Ireland, Ascertain is out of Group 3-placed Self Assured (Ahonoora), who has also produced stakes-placed Miss Assertive (Zafonic). The winner's second dam is Group 3 queen Impudent Miss (Persian Bold). O'Callaghan is plotting a raid on New York for the June 9 Manhattan H. (G1) on Belmont Day. "Hopefully, we'll go to the Manhattan next and we'll have to teach Jamie how not to be so shy in New York," the smiling Irishman said.
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