Ron the Greek in time in the Stephen Foster
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Photo:
Eclipse Sportswire
A large, night-loving Churchill Downs crowd was rewarded with a thriller of a finish in the Grade 1, $437,200 Stephen Foster Handicap, as Ron the Greek rallied on the inside to edge heavily favored Wise Dan by a short head.
Squeezed back early in a roughly run first quarter of a mile, Ron the Greek was content to sit well off solid early fractions set by the speedy Nates Mineshaft. As the leader led the field on a merry chase, it was Wise Dan who menaced first on the outside as the field turned for home, while the eventual winner mounted his challenge on the inside, under rider Jose Lezcano. It looked for a long while that neither challenge would be good enough though as Nates Mineshaft still had a few lengths on the field outside the eighth pole.
The lead would not last though. With Nates Mineshaft starting to tire, Wise Dan came fast on the outside, with Ron the Greek gobbling up ground on the rail. The two motored past Nates Mineshaft late and the decision was in doubt until the wire, before it became clear that Ron the Greek had got the best of the favorite in the last stride. Rogue Romance, who had a very tough trip, finished fourth, beaten only two lengths, and a 1 ¼ lengths behind 3rd place Nates Mineshaft.
Placing his name atop the older males based east of the Mississippi, it was the second major victory of the year for the son of Full Mandate after a big win in the Santa Anita Handicap back in March. The $262,932 winner’s share of the purse raised Ron the Greek’s lifetime earnings over $1.1 million, as the five-year-old secured his 7th win in 19 lifetime starts. Sent off as the 9-1 fifth choice in the stellar field of eight, the Bill Mott trainee returned $20.80 to his backers and completed the nine furlongs of the Foster in 1:50.51.
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