Effinex becomes a Grade 1 winner in the Clark

Whether it is enough to sway voters deciding upon the Older Male Championship remains to be seen, but this afternoon at Churchill Downs, Effinex ran another big performance to score the first Grade 1 victory of his career. The occasion was the $500,000 Clark Handicap, and fresh off an excellent second-place finish to American Pharoah in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, the four-year-old New York-bred proved that he belongs in racing’s elite with a game 3/4 -length victory.

Sent off as a lukewarm 5-2 favorite, Effinex looked good from the get go. Finding a nice middle of the pack position on the outside under Hall of Fame rider, Mike Smith, the Jimmy Jerkens trainee was a comfortable fifth early as the field of eight made their way down the Churchill backstretch. Up front, Mr. Z set the early pace, as he was hounded by Shotgun Kowboy and Protonico through early fractions of :23.43 and :47.68. Despite the contentious nature of the frontend, some of the heavy hitters were not content to wait too long before making their move. As first Protonico, and then Mr. Z threw in the towel, both Race Day and Effinex moved up quickly on the outside, as the field hit the far turn.

Hoppertunity, on the outside, and the 88-1 Looks to Spare on the inside, followed not too far behind. By the time the stretch was struck, it was Race Day edging to a narrow lead with Effinex on his outside, and Shotgun Kowboy and Looks to Spare down on the inside. Of the four, Effinex looked the most menacing, as he methodically reeled in the gray that he had followed to the front. Meanwhile, the rank outsider in the deep field, Looks to Spare, was running a big one in between horses and also moved right up to the lead in mid-stretch. In fact, the huge long shot actually may have poked his nose in front for a few strides.

The more preferred horses on the outside were moving just a little bit better, though, and the New York-bred gained control in deep stretch, with Hoppertunity, farther out, trying doggedly to make up the necessary ground. Effinex was not to be denied on this day, and hit the wire a determined winner over the defending Clark champion. Looks to Spare just held on for third, while only a neck behind the runner-up.

“He ran so well last time and it looked like he never missed a beat with his training and everything else afterwards so that’s why we decided to come,” said the winning trainer. “We broke a step slow and then they kind of converged on him and they went like a bat out of hell so he just sat there and went in behind them.

Keen Ice, the only horse to finish ahead of American Pharoah in 2015, was way behind the rest of the field through the early stages, but finished boldly in between horses to finish 4th, although only one length behind the winner, and just a jump short of getting the show spot.

Final time for the nine furlongs over the fast main track was a solid 1:48.92. Effinex paid an even $7 for the win, while the $2 exacta over Hopportunity returned $29.

“He’s just a good quality horse,” added Jerkens. “He’s really come around since that weird effort at Saratoga where he went crazy from behind the gate. I still don’t know what that was about, but he’s been all business since then. He ran a hard race in the Breeders’ Cup, but he shipped all the way back on the van and acted like a fresh horse so we decided to come back. We didn’t really make a final decision until the week before. We were sure we could get Mike [Smith] to do it and we were sure that he wanted to come. We didn’t know what he had elsewhere but he definitely wanted to come so that helped us a little bit. Maybe we’ll send him to Florida, I don’t know yet. He’s such a tough horse, as long as there’s someone around taking good care of him that’s all he cares about.”

Over the years, the Clark has featured such winners as champions Silver Charm and Saint Liam, and the traditional day after Thanksgiving race has only become even more important in recent years, with winners like Blame, Wise Dan, Shackleford, and Will Take Charge. Now Effinex joins the list. The son of Horse of the Year Mineshaft has quietly put together a very good year. The winner of the Grade 3 Excelsior, and Grade 2 Suburban in the spring and the summer, Effinex ran the best race of his career to finish well clear of the likes of Honor Code, Tonalist, Keen Ice, and Frosted, in America’s richest race in his last start. Today, he verified that excellent form.

With an Eclipse Award thought to be a close contest between Honor Code and Liam’s Map, both three-time winners in 2015, the Tri-Bone Stables owned Effinex has certainly done enough to have thrown his name into the hat. 4-of-8 for the year, Effinex has now collected over $2 million in earnings, most coming from this his four-year-old season. In his only meetings with his competition for the award, he finished 4th behind Liam’s Map in the Woodward, but finished 4 ½ lengths ahead of Honor Code in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. With those two already retired, at the very least, Effinex earned the last word today in Louisville.