Finally, it’s Twilight Eclipse’s turn

If ever a horse deserved to win one, it surely was the six-year-old Twilight Eclipse. Well, it wasn’t easy Saturday at Belmont Park, but mission accomplished for him in the Grade 1 Man o' War, as the West Point Thoroughbreds’ gelding finally broke through for victory, after a string of narrow defeats. Guided to a perfect stalking trip by jockey Javier Castellano, Twilight Eclipse wore down the stubborn early leader War Dancer to win the $400,000 affair by a neck.

In an evenly matched field of six experienced turfers, it was War Dancer, making his second start since being transferred to the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, who went right to the lead under Jose Lezcano. With the pace not hurried, Twilight Eclipse, the 9-5 second choice, moved into second early, where he would stay for the majority of the 1 3/8 miles of the history rich turf stake.

War Dancer went on his merry way, rattling off relaxed early fractions of :24.91, :50.62, and 1:15.44, as the rest of the field jockeyed for position. It was always Twilight Eclipse, though, who was willing and able to stay in close contact with the 8-1 early leader. After a mile in 1:39.49, Castellano asked his charge to get a little closer to War Dancer, who was getting more brave with each passing furlong.

The pair quickened for the stretch run, and sprinting for the wire, edged away from the rest of the field. Hyper was super game, and came home in sprinter time, but this time, Twilight Eclipse would not be denied. Slowly reeling in his competitor, the Tom Albertrani trained Twilight Eclipse stuck his nose in front inside the eighth pole, and edged away for the neck victory.

"I was a little concerned about the ground, because it was a little soft, and usually that type of horse likes it very firm,” said Castellano. “But he had so much class today. He just galloped along and was right there. Turning for home, if we moved too soon, he would be hanging; if he moved too late, he wouldn't get there. At the right time, the right place, he made the move."

Final time for the 11 furlongs over the firm turf was 2:14.44. Hyper, the longest shot on the board, never threatened the top two, but was the best of the rest, finishing a clear third. The Canadian-bred Dynamic Sky rallied from last to complete the superfecta.  

The post time favorite, and defending Man O’ War champion, Imagining, found some traffic in the early going and never could muster a serious challenge today, and finished up in fifth. While Hardest Core, the upset winner of last year's Grade 1 Arlington Million, and making his first start since last fall’s Breeders' Cup Turf today, had little left for the stretch run, and came home last of six.  

As mentioned earlier, if ever a horse was due for a nice win it was Twilight Eclipse. He hit the board in each of last six, four of which were Grade 1 races, and was beaten less than a length in three consecutive Grade 1 races last year, all behind the Champion Turf Horse of 2014, Main Sequence.

Continuing the trend that finished off 2014, Twilight Eclipse began this year with a 2nd-place finish in the Grade 2 Mac Diarmida at Gulfstream, again vanquished by Main Sequence, his fifth straight tough defeat to the champion, before a 3rd-place finish in the Grade 2 Pan American.

"It's been very satisfying for everybody that's involved and for his connections to [finally] get that Grade 1’” said Albertrani. “I know we've been beaten in a couple of spots but he shows up every time. I think [in previous races], the horses were just that good; you know you have horses like Main Sequence. Without a horse like [that] in the race, this horse looks like a champion himself, but to his credit he did train really well coming into this race. I thought we would have had a little bit of a harder time, especially with the slow fractions, but he was able to get there."

His first victory in 2015, and his first Grade 1 win, raised the son of Purim’s lifetime record to 24-7-5-4. Today’s winning purse raised the one-time $1,000 bargain basement purchase’s lifetime earnings to just a shade under $1.6 million. Today, finally, he did get there -- Good for Twilight Eclipse!