Protonico outclasses foes in Ben Ali

Protonico shook off a bad beat in the Donn and dominated the Ben Ali (Wendy Wooley/EquiSport Photos) When he gets knocked down, Protonico (Giant’s Causeway) doesn’t stay down for long. Two months after being eased in the Donn H. (G1), the four-year-old colt rebounded with a wire-to-wire victory in Saturday’s $150,000 Ben Ali (G3) at Keeneland. Under Javier Castellano, Protonico broke sharply from post 5 and dived down toward the rail before entering the first turn. Holding an advantage of no more than a length over Irish You Well (Broken Vow) through splits of :23 4/5; :47 2/5 and 1:11 1/5, Protonico began to to edge away from that rival and the others entering the stretch and was a comfortable five-length winner in a time of 1:48 3/5 for nine furlongs on a fast track. “When we were handicapping the race, I didn’t see much speed,” Castellano said. “I took advantage — my horse has speed. I rode him before and was in the lead wire to wire. I tried to do the same today, and it worked out very well. The way he did it (was) very easy. Turning for home, when I asked he responded so well.”

Owned by Sumaya U.S. Stable and trained by Todd Pletcher, Protonico paid
$3.60 as the 4-5 favorite.

Neck ‘n Neck (Flower Alley) finished second, 2 1/2 lengths ahead of Ami’s
Holiday (Harlan’s Holiday). Irish You Well, Golden Ticket (Speightstown), and
Farhaan completed the order of finish.

Protonico’s first stakes win occurred last September in the Smarty Jones (G3)
at Parx, but he flopped next out in the Pennsylvania Derby (G2) against a field
that included eventual Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner Bayern (Offlee Wild)
and Horse of the Year California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit). Protonico rebounded from
that seventh-place finish to take the Discovery H. (G3) at Aqueduct and then ran
a close second in the Clark H. (G1) at Churchill Downs.

Protonico made his four-year-old debut in the February 7 Donn at Gulfstream,
fell far back early and was eased in the stretch. He moves on to his next
assignment with a record of 10-5-1-1, $590,507.

Protonico was bred in Kentucky by International Equities Holdings. He was
reared by Alpha Spirit (A.P. Indy), a daughter of Chilean Horse of the Year and
U.S. Grade 1 winner Wild Spirit (Hussonet).

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