One week after racing bid farewell to reigning champion older dirt male and Horse of the Year Gun Runner last winter, Accelerate made his 2018 debut in the San Pasqual (G2) at Santa Anita. A 1 3/4-length victory in the nine-furlong test proved a harbinger as the son of Lookin at Lucky made five more winner’s circle visits the rest of the season and easily secured champion older dirt male honors.
Accelerate’s lifetime record courtesy of Brisnet!
Accelerate continued his dominance over his Southern California peers the remainder of the season, taking the Santa Anita H. (G1) by 5 1/2 lengths, the Gold Cup at Santa Anita (G1) by 4 1/4 lengths, and the Pacific Classic (G1) at Del Mar by an emphatic 12 1/2 lengths. All were over the American classic distance of 1 1/4 miles.
The result of the Gold Cup at Santa Anita reversed an earlier loss by Accelerate to City of Light in the Oaklawn H. (G2). Falling a neck short of that rival in his first outing outside of the Golden State, Accelerate’s revenge was by a more decisive 5 1/2-length margin over the eventual Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) winner.
While not as dazzling in his final two starts as he was earlier in the season, Accelerate nonetheless found his way to the top in the Awesome Again (G1) at Santa Anita and in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) by one length at Churchill Downs. For owner Kosta Hronis and trainer John Sadler, he bankrolled $5,005,000 for the season.
Accelerate’s cumulative record is 22-10-5-5, $5,792,480. He won or placed nine times in stakes company at ages three and four, with his most notable victory a dominating 8 1/2-length tally in the 2017 San Diego H. (G2) at Del Mar, with champion Arrogate up the track. Accelerate previously captured the Los Alamitos Derby (G2) and $100,000 Shared Belief at Del Mar in 2016.
Bred in Kentucky by Mike Abraham, Accelerate is out of the stakes-placed Awesome Again mare Issues. Accelerate’s siblings include Grade 1-placed stakes winner Daddy D T and Grade 3-placed stakes winner Amarish. Further back, this is the female family of 1979 champion juvenile filly Smart Angle and Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) winner Wagon Limit.
Accelerate will bid adieu to the racetrack following Saturday’s $9 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) at Gulfstream Park and will stand at Lane’s End Farm in Kentucky.
| OLDER DIRT MALE | FIRST-PLACE VOTES | |
| ACCELERATE | 245 | |
| Gun Runner | 2 | |
| Discreet Lover | 1 | |
| Roy H | 1 |
