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Sky Conqueror (outside chestnut) just got up to take the Turf Classic
(Alex Evers/Horsephotos.com) |
William Sorokolit's homebred SKY CONQUEROR (Sky Classic) went to his knees at
the start, but the Canadian turf champion got his act together at the finish of
Saturday's $561,000
Woodford Reserve Turf Classic S. (G1), the prelude to the Kentucky Derby
(G1) at Churchill Downs. The Darwin Banach charge got up in the final stride to
deny Brilliant (War Chant) by a nose, completing nine furlongs on yielding turf
in 1:49 to join millionaires' row with $1,231,586 in earnings.
Regrouping beneath Javier Castellano, Sky Conqueror settled near the back of
the pack as the dedicated pacemaker Shake the Bank (Sandpit [Brz]) sprinted to
the fore through fractions of :24, :47 1/5 and 1:11 2/5. Brilliant was the first
to attack, bursting past the rabbit in the stretch, but Sky Conqueror was
unleashing a ferocious kick on the far outside. In the waning yards, although
Brilliant tried desperately to hang on, Sky Conqueror's momentum proved too much
to resist. The winner returned $18.80, $9.20 and $5.80, while the runner-up gave
back $9.40 and $6.60. Both were outsiders at 8-1 in the wagering.
"We always have known he's a fantastic racehorse," Banach said. "He
had some bad trips in the past, and he pulled it out here. I just like
to see him get to the outside and get a straight run for the wire, and
not have to be checked and steered and turned and everything else.
That's what he did, and we got there in time."
The filly Danzon (Royal Academy) finished strongly for third, just one length
astern of Brilliant, to pay $9.40 at 17-1. The exacta totaled $177.80, the
trifecta $2,027.20, and with the nearly 3-1 Better Talk Now (Talkin Man) in
fourth, the 7-1-4-5 superfecta was worth $8,484.60. Shake the Bank held fifth,
followed by Defer (Danzig); Einstein (Brz) (Spend a Buck), who went off as the
nearly 5-2 favorite; Icy Atlantic (Stormy Atlantic); Go Between (Point Given);
and Milk It Mick (GB) (Millkom [GB]).
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