Y66-W6 AWS Grade 1 Round-up

Original article written by Evelyne Cergerac posted 3 months 2 weeks ago

Three Grade 1 stakes races for the All-Weather Sprinter division to debrief this week. Summary of the results at the bottom of the article!

Let’s get started with the 2 races at Artificial Arena (IL) which were both raced over the distance of 6 ½ furlongs (1300m) and both had a purse of $250,000.
The Formidable Fager Sprint was restricted to 3 year olds and up colts and geldings, with a field of 7 horses, and saw Dancing Silently take the win. The very experienced son of Shutupndancewithme, a homebred for Brian Chunn, keeps a spotless record for Y66 after a win in a Grade 2 race three weeks ago. The stallion waited patiently a couple lengths behind the leader, in 3rd position, in the early stage of the race before he was urged by his jockey in the final furlongs. He finished 1 ½ length ahead of runner-up Princely Appearance.
Princely Appearance, a colt by Lloyd’s Keeping It who is being leased by Nicky Morgan this year, sees his winning streak stopped at 4. The colt didn’t have the best start but still managed to take the lead early on, which is his favorite position on the track. Despite his best efforts in the last furlongs, he couldn’t fend off Dancing Silently.
In third position comes Prison Stay, owned by Oncu Kaan, another experienced horse in this field. While he hasn’t won in the past 2 seasons, Prison Stay shows a better form this year compared to the end of Y65. In this race, the son of Illegalist was kept second to last at the back of the field, waiting for the right moment to pick up the pace. Eventually, he was able to secure the third position, just a length and a half behind Princely Appearance.

Second race is the Chocopologie Sprint which was restricted to 3 year olds fillies and mares. Nine contestants entered the race.
The winner of this race is It's Giving Slay, a Lloyd’s Keeping It filly bred and owned by Katie Stepanian. While she has been racing in stakes races ever since her second entry, this race marks her first win at the Grade 1 level. The filly took the lead right from the start, quickly putting some distance between her and the rest of the field. That distance was barely enough to secure the win as she was seriously under threat in the last yards of the race. She prevailed only by a neck over runner-up Mythical Keepsake.
Mythical Keepsake is another Lloyd’s Keeping It filly, a homebred for Lee Cara, and another regular contestant in stakes races. Unlike It’s Giving Slay, she has yet to win a Grade 1 stakes race. She came very close to achieving this when she set a blistering pace in the late stage of the race to close the distance with her last rival. It is very likely she would have won, had the race been just a furlong longer.
While we witnessed quite the battle for the win, the 3rd place went rather undisputed to the Slayer of Enemies mare St Tropaz Mirage, another homebred for Brian Chunn. The mare was held back unusually far behind the leader despite a good start. She sped up when urged in the last furlongs and managed to move from 6th to 3rd position. Sadly, she was too far to be anywhere close to the fighting pair in front of her.

The last race, the Synthetic Sprint Derby, took place at Weather Or Not Park (CO), over a distance of 5 ½ furlongs (1100m) and was restricted to 3 year olds only. Like the previous races, the purse prize was $250,000. Out of the 8 horses who took part in this race, only 1 was a filly.
It is yet another son of Lloyd’s Keeping It who won the race. Called Timid Freak, he is a homebred for Jamie Bates and a new Grade 1 winner for his sire.Timid Freak settled in 4th position, nearly 5 lengths behind the leader, in the first stage of the race. Despite the short distance of the race, he was able to accelerate and overtake his opponents with ease, finishing with a comfortable length and a half margin over his runner-up.
Second place went to Keep It Paranormal, bred and owned by Lucas Davenport. The son of (again) Lloyd’s Keeping It progressed at the same level as Timid Freak, though slightly behind him. As the horses covered the last furlongs, Keep It Paranormal pushed through the field, shadowing Timid Freak in his last effort. He crossed the line a length in front of Baltic Thunder.
Baltic Thunder, who finished 3rd, is a homebred son of Dense Fog for Shannon Hunt. He had a good start, taking the lead and distancing his rivals quickly. Despite his good pace and the distance put early on, he was simply not able to match the speed of both Timid Freak and Keep It Paranormal.

Race Results:

Formidable Fager Sprint - Purse $250,000 - 6 ½ F - 3yo+ Colts/Geldings
1. Dancing Silently (h. 6yo) - Shutupndancewithme x A Living Air (Red Running Hood)
2. Princely Appearance (c. 4yo) - Lloyd’s Keeping It x Heart of a Princess (Stab Thru the Hart)
3. Prison Stay (g. 6yo) - Illegalist x Sister Stays (Undrafted)

Chocopologie Sprint - Purse $250,000 - 6 ½ F - 3yo+ Fillies/mares
1. It's Giving Slay (f. 3yo) - Lloyd’s Keeping It x Sim Slayer (Slayer of Enemies)
2. Mythical Keepsake (f. 4yo) - Lloyd’s Keeping It x Mythical Hart (Stab Thru the Hart)
3. St Tropaz Mirage (m. 5yo) - Slayer of Enemies x We Are the Fallen (At the Gallows End)

Synthetic Sprint Derby - Purse $250,000 - 5 ½ F - 3yo
1. Timid Freak (c. 3yo) - Lloyd’s Keeping It x Luckily So (Ghostly Forensics)
2. Keep It Paranormal (c. 3yo) - Lloyd’s Keeping It x Paranormal Crowd (The Crowd Cheers)
3. Baltic Thunder (c. 3yo) - Dense Fog x Cobalt Bubbles (Lucky Bubbles)

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