Protonico takes Smarty Jones, gives Pletcher 1,000th stakes
win
Trainer Todd Pletcher earned his 1,000th career stakes win when International
Equities Holding’s homebred Protonico landed the Grade 3, $300,000
Smarty Jones for three-year-olds at
Parx Racing on Labor
Day.
A tracking sixth as Ain’t Got Time set a pressured pace of :22 3/5, :46 1/5
and 1:10 3/5, Protonico found running room entering the stretch and gobbled up
ground in the final sixteenth to catch 13-1 shot Classic Giancnroll by a
half-length in a time of 1:41 for one mile and 70 yards on a fast track.
Guided by Joe Bravo and wearing blinkers for the first time this season,
Protonico paid $9.20 as the 7-2 third choice in a field of nine in this prep for
the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby.
Classic Giacnroll drove up the rail in the stretch to pass 7-5 favorite
Albano, looked as if he would pull the upset, but was outfinished late. He
finished 1 3/4 lengths clear of Albano, who enjoyed a ground-saving trip, shot
through an inside opening turning for home, but drifted out to allow Classic
Giacnroll running room to make his bid and offered nothing in the final
eighth-mile.
The order of finish was completed by Almost Famous, Saa Mi, Just Call Kenny,
Ain’t Got Time, and Grasshoppin. Joint Custody was eased and Lynx was scratched.
A son of Giant’s Causeway, Protonico was an emphatic 12 3/4-length debut
winner at Delaware Park going six furlongs last September, but was a distant
sixth after a slow start in the Nashua at Aqueduct two months later. He was
trained as a juvenile by Oussama Aboughazale and wore blinkers in both outings.
The dark bay returned to action June 25 under the care of Pletcher, defeating
first-level allowance foes at Belmont by two lengths going a mile sans blinkers.
Last time, Protonico finished a head behind V. E. Day, the subsequent Travers
winner, in the $100,000 Curlin, a restricted stakes at Saratoga. The colt’s
record now stands at 5-3-0-1, $259,715.
Bred in Kentucky, Protonico was reared by Alpha Spirit, a daughter of A.P.
Indy and Chilean Horse of the Year Wild Spirit, who also enjoyed Grade 1 success
in the U.S.
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