SHELBYVILLE, Ind. — Slam Dunk Racing’s Axelrod turned in his own version of a game-winning buzzer beater Saturday night at Indiana Grand, nailing front-running Trigger Warning in the final strides to post a 12-1 upset in the $500,000 Indiana Derby (G3) for trainer Michael McCarthy and jockey Florent Geroux.
Axelrod saved ground near the tail of the field as Trigger Warning set a pace of :23.65 and :47.66 while pressured consistently by Blame the Rider. King Zachary, the 8-5 favorite, raced wide into the first turn and also down the backside when in between rivals.
Trigger Warning shook off Blame the Ride with about three furlongs to go as Axelrod began to wind up from the back. Geroux moved the colt off the inside, improved position approaching the quarter pole and made a four-wide bid inside King Zachary.
Trigger Warning hit six furlongs in 1:11.52 and opened up a 2 1/2-length lead in the stretch, with Axelrod the only legitimate threat as Title Ready and Dark Vader began to weaken. In the final sixteenth, Axelrod kept coming and finally caught the long-time leader by a head, finishing 1 1/16 miles in 1:43 over a fast track.
“You know, (it seemed like) a speed-favoring track, and everybody sent. I said, ‘You know what? Let’s just go to the fence and hope to get lucky.’ And I’m glad I did because it worked out well,” Geroux said. “Everybody went fast, and I was able to pick them off right at the end”
Axelrod paid $26.80. Title Ready finished third, 1 1/2 lengths behind Trigger Warning, and was followed by King Zachary, Dark Vader, Funny Duck, The Money Dance, Givemeaminit, and Blame the Rider.
Outrun in his debut on the turf at Del Mar last summer, Axelrod rebounded second out to win over a mile on Del Mar’s main track against $50,000 maiden claiming company. Fourth in the Oak Tree Juvenile at Pleasanton, he recorded his last win prior to the Indiana Derby in a starter allowance/optional claimer at Santa Anita in October.
“We gave him a little bit of a break over the winter. It seemed to do him some good, and everything he’s done since then has just been great,” McCarthy said.
Leading up to this first stakes win Saturday night, Axelrod was a narrowly-beaten third and fourth in two grass sprints at Santa Anita, and last time ran a solid second at 23-1 in the Affirmed (G3) back on the main track. His record now stands at 8-3-1-1, $360,925.
“We’ll let him dictate where we go next,” McCarthy said. “There is no real standout three-year-old race here at Del Mar. So most likely he will get on the road somewhere.
“We can also take a look at the Secretariat (G1) later on this summer. He’s a very hard-trying horse. Seems to run well on any surface. Look, he’s certainly proven on the dirt, he’s got three wins on dirt. But his turf races are actually very respectably as well.”
Bred in Florida by Hidden Point Farm and a $25,000 OBS yearling purchase, Axelrod is by Warrior’s Reward and out of the Elusive Quality mare Volatile Vickie, making him a half-brother to the stakes-placed Trelawny.
Indiana Grand reported all-time record handle of $3,628,578 on the Indiana Derby card, eclipsing last year’s previous record of $3,581,501.
