Will Call failed to show his best form last month in the Shakertown (G3) at Keeneland, but rebounded on a bigger stage Friday with a 1 1/4-length tally in the $200,000 Twin Spires Turf Sprint (G3) at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Oaks Day.
Ninth over soft ground in Lexington after a good-looking second in the $50,000 Colonel Power at Fair Grounds two back, Will Call wore down his rivals with an outside rally to score the minor upset under Shaun Bridgmohan. He paid $15.60 after covering five furlongs on firm ground in :56.68.
“He was training extremely well and I had a lot of confidence in him going into that Keeneland race,” trainer Brad Cox said. “For whatever reason, it just didn’t work out that day. But, he really showed up today. I really liked him coming into the race. His two works over this course have been fantastic. He broke off, settled and fired home, just like he did today. It was a huge effort.”
Kid Perfect, an 18-1 chance, edged second choice Bucchero for the place by a neck. Vision Perfect, the 2-1 favorite, ran sixth in the field of 10.
Owned by Richard Klein, who bred the four-year-old son of Country Day with his late father, Bert, Will Call now possesses a mark of 9-5-1-1 and boosted his career earnings to $232,521. The course-and-distance win can be considered a positive for later in the season as Churchill will host the 2018 renewal of the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1).
The Kentucky-bred is out of the stakes-winning Vote Early, by More Than Ready.
