Tremendous homestretch rallies carried talented two-year-olds to victory in a pair of Sunday turf stakes at Keeneland.
First up was the $250,000 Indian Summer S., a 5 1/2-furlong dash serving as a stepping stone to the Nov. 3 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1) at Santa Anita. Intense early fractions of :21.40 and :44.35 posted by longshot Riparound set the race up for closers, and in a driving finish the outside rally of Committee of One proved best.
Runner-up in his first two starts against maiden special weight competition, Committee of One was content to rate in seventh place early on under jockey Cristian Torres, one spot behind Amidst Waves and one spot ahead of Shards. Those three were the top three finishers at the wire, with Committee of One edging Amidst Waves by a nose while Shards came home a neck back in third. The final time was 1:02.40.
“I had a very nice trip,” said Torres. “I knew there was a lot of speed in the race. I was very confident with him and comfortable where he was traveling. As soon as we passed the three-eighths (pole), I asked him to pick it up, and he picked it up beautiful. Down the lane he just kept coming, and he got the job done.”
The top three finishers opened up four lengths on Cowes, who completed the superfecta. Fairhopecurly, Bledsoe, Sponge Bath, Riparound, Pinotslilgirl, and Candymaker trailed the field.
A son of 2017 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) winner Mendelssohn, Committee of One is trained by Steve Asmussen on behalf of owners J. Kirk Robison and Judy Robison.
A little more than one hour after the Indian Summer, Can Group launched an even more dramatic homestretch rally to nab the 1 1/16-mile Bourbon (G2), a “Win and You’re In” qualifier to the Nov. 3 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.
Coming off a maiden victory at Kentucky Downs, Can Group was overlooked at odds of 27-1 in the Bourbon and appeared to be running accordingly while trailing the field for the first six furlongs. But in a remarkable finish that saw five different horses lead inside the final furlong, Can Group made the last (and winning) move, nipping Noted in the shadow of the wire to win by a nose.
Vote No, First World War, Tok Tok, Depiction, Palm Tree, Double Your Money, Coin Miner, Gorilla Trek, Fortune Seller, and Nomos completed the order of finish. As of this writing, fractions and the final time for the Bourbon were not listed in the official result chart.
Francisco Arrieta rode Can Group on behalf of Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse, who conditions the son of Good Samaritan for owners D. J. Stable and Cash is King.
“When I moved and he saw the leaders, he just took off and, wow, it was amazing,” sand Arrieta. “I felt like I crossed the wire in front. He was rolling. I won with him at Kentucky Downs and he came from off the pace very nice, slow, so today I planned the same. Relax, give him time and make one move, and he showed up.”
