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Striking Oil in Louisville W. Bruce Lunsford and Lansdon B. Robbins III's DRILLING FOR OIL (Giant's Causeway) struck it rich in Saturday's $170,400 Louisville H. (G3), finding his third graded stakes attempt to be the proverbial charm. The Ken McPeek charge tracked the pace in fourth as Royal Assault (Kris S.) and I Believe in Me (Giant's Causeway) battled it out through fractions of :24 and :47 4/5. When a clear gap opened up on the hedge, Kent Desormeaux drove Drilling for Oil right through it, and he seized a narrow advantage through six furlongs in 1:13 4/5. The four-year-old chestnut continued to show the way through a mile in 1:39 2/5 and 10 furlongs in 2:04 2/5. Ramazutti (Honor Grades) mounted a serious challenge along the inside in the stretch, but Desormeaux kept Drilling for Oil close enough to the hedge to pin Ramazutti in and force him to steady slightly. Drilling for Oil then drew off by 1 1/2 lengths at the line, posting a final time of 2:28 1/5 for 1 1/2 miles on the firm turf at Churchill Downs. The winner left the gate as the 6-1 fourth choice in the 11-horse field to return $14.80, $6.40 and $4.80. "I thought Kent rode a masterpiece of a race," McPeek said. "I wasn't going to run him unless Kent came in and he just rode him fantastic. We discussed (Desormeaux making the lead on the backstretch) in the paddock. He talked about it and I said if you think that's the move, then make it. He thought the horse needed a 'momentum move' because he's such a galloper, so I said, 'If you get the shot, do it.' "He's a nice horse, but he's one of the toughest, most difficult horses I've ever trained. He doesn't like to train. He's a really strong-minded horse." "The horse is quirky," Desormeaux agreed. "and as was noted by Kenny, he just doesn't focus, and I had to help him focus. I had to keep throwing crosses. I made him keep grabbing the bridle; that's all I can do." Always First (GB) (Barathea [Ire]) rallied from near the tail of the field to grab second by a neck from Ramazutti, who had only a nose to spare over Cloudy's Knight (Lord Avie) in fourth. The runner-up yielded $4.60 and $3.80 as the 3-1 second choice, while the 14-1 Ramazutti gave back $7. The exotics were worth $61.60 (exacta), $714.20 (trifecta) and $2,777.40 (10-2-9-6 superfecta). Rounding out the order of finish were the lukewarm 5-2 favorite Hotstufanthensome (Awesome Again), I Believe in Me, Murch (Mr. Greeley), the mare Louve des Reves (Ire) (Sadler's Wells), Royal Assault, Fri Guy (Theatrical [Ire]) and Transduction Gold (Formal Gold). Embossed (Ire) (Mark of Esteem [Ire]) was scratched, preferring to line up in Monday's Dallas Turf Cup H. (G3). Drilling for Oil more than doubled his bankroll to $180,081 from his 11-3-1-2 line. Debuting in late summer of his three-year-old year, he broke his maiden in his second start on Turfway Park's Polytrack. Drilling for Oil took some time to win an allowance, finally clearing that hurdle on the turf at Gulfstream Park in February. He made his stakes bow in the Pan American H. (G3) and rallied for fifth. Last time out, he finished a solid third in the Elkhorn S. (G3). Bred in Kentucky by Gainesway Thoroughbreds Ltd., Drilling for Oil was a $270,000 yearling purchase at the 2004 Keeneland September sale. He is out of the stakes-winning Won't She Tell (Banner Sport), who has also produced English Group 3 victor White Crown (Secreto); stakes hero and Grade 1-placed Dr. Caton (Seattle Slew); Group 3-placed Wind Cheetah (Storm Cat); stakes-placed Confidante (Dayjur), the dam of 2006 Prix de Diane (Fr-G1) heroine Confidential Lady (Singspiel [Ire]); and an unnamed juvenile filly by Vindication. Won't She Tell is herself a half-sister to Triple Crown winner Affirmed, a two-time Horse of the Year and earner of nearly $2.4 million.
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