Willcox Inn wills self to victory in Washington Park

Willcox Inn (pink hat) just eked out the victory in the Washington Park (Four Footed Fotos)

Lael Stable and All In Stable’s Willcox Inn prevailed by a nose in a dramatic
finish to the wire in Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000

Washington Park Handicap at Arlington.

“If there was ever a photo we needed to win — this was the one,” trainer
Michael Stidham said. “This little horse, he tries hard every time. We’ve put
him in some tough spots all year long. He got the job done and (jockey) James
(Graham) did a great job.”

The five-year-old horse settled in the back of the pack as eventual
runner-up Gallant Eagle set leisurely fractions of :24 3/5, :49 4/5 and 1:14. Willcox Inn was well off the pace in the early going before he gradually started
to close in on the leaders approaching the far turn.

Willcox Inn launched his bid four wide around the far turn and found himself
in a duel at the top of the stretch with the pacesetter. Gallant Eagle fought
back gamely during the stretch run as he tried his hardest not to relinquish the
lead but it was Willcox Inn who got up just before the wire to capture his first
stakes win since 2011.

Willcox Inn earned his first win since July 2012 in the Washington Park (Four Footed Fotos)

Willcox Inn covered 1 1/8 miles over the Polytrack in 1:49 3/5 and paid his
supporters $6.20 to win as the 2-1 third choice.

The son of Harlan’s Holiday broke his maiden over this track in his first
start as a two-year-old in September 2010. Willcox Inn concluded his freshman
campaign with thirds in the Breeders’ Futurity and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile
Turf in his grass debut.

Second in the Grindstone Stakes on turf and eighth in the Blue Grass Stakes
to kick off 2011, he finally returned to the winner’s circle following a 2
1/4-length score in the Arlington Classic. He next captured the second leg of
Arlington’s Mid-America Triple, dominating the American Derby by four lengths.

A
sweep of the three-race series was not to be as the Secretariat Stakes was
contested over deteriorating conditions, but Willcox Inn ran a brave fourth
against a world-class field. He would win the Hawthorne Derby next out
but closed out his three-year-old campaign with a disappointing eighth in
the Hollywood Derby.

Willcox Inn would not race until July as a four-year-old. He captured an
optional claiming race over this turf course before finishing eighth in the
Arlington Million last August. The dark bay closed out the year with a
runner-up finish to Wise Dan in the Shadewell Turf Mile at Keeneland and a
last-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.

Willcox Inn opened up 2013 with a third in the John B. Connally Turf Cup in
January and followed up that performance with a fourth-place finish in the Fair
Grounds Handicap in February. He was runner-up in both the Mervin H. Muniz Jr.
Handicap and Dixie Stakes his next two times out and was exiting a fifth-place
finish in the United Nations Stakes at Monmouth last month. The Washington Park
Handicap victory gives Willcox Inn a record that stands at 20-6-4-3 and $939,543
in lifetime earnings.