American Patriot Up Late in Maker's 46 Mile
In what was a very competitive edition of the $300,000 Grade 1 Maker’s 46 Mile, it was American Patriot who sprang the upset victory over Heart to Heart. Owned and bred by WinStar Farm, The four-year-old son of War Front gave trainer Todd Pletcher his 51st stakes victory at Keeneland, making him the Lexington track’s all-time leading trainer by stakes wins.
As the gates opened for the field of eleven on turf, What a View took advantage of the two post and went out on the lead by two lengths. Heart to Heart and Julien Leparoux broke from post nine and took up the second position, with Western Reserve up for third and Bolo settling in fourth.
While What a View was leading the pack through the first half-mile in :23.25 and :47.18, American Patriot and Javier Castellano bided their time back in eighth behind Conquest Panthera, Blacktype, and Inspector Lynley. Ballagh Rocks, Bondurant, and Calculator trailed the field.
About half-way through, Castellano began to make his move behind Conquest Panthera. Heart to Heart engaged What a View and stole the lead as he turned for home, taking three-quarters of the race in 1:10.98. The six-year-old English Channel horse looked poised to earn his first Grade 1 race as he began to pull away, but the closers bore down on him as he was searching for the wire.
Ending up four-wide out of the turn, American Patriot was set down for the drive while being chased by Ballagh Rocks. The WinStar colt continued in pursuit, and collared Heart to Heart by a neck at the wire, stopping the clock in 1:34.70. Conquest Panthera was third by a nose, while Ballagh Rocks was another neck back in fourth.
Blacktype, What a View, Western Reserve, Inspector Lynley, Bolo, Bondurant, and Calculator completed the order of finish. Conquest Enforcer was scratched.
At odds of 10-1, American Patriot paid $23.00, $10.80, and $7.20. Heart to Heart returned $5.40 and $3.80 at 4-1, while Conquest Panthera delivered $13.00 at 27-1.
“That was really cool,” Pletcher remarked from Florida.
“We always felt like he had a lot of potential. He was unlucky to not win a Grade 1 last year. He's trained exceptionally well all winter (at Palm Beach Downs in Florida). He has run well at Keeneland before so we knew he would like the turf course.”
“It was a good setup: a lot of speed in the race,” Castellano said of today’s race. “I spoke to (trainer) Todd (Pletcher about the race) early this morning. I rode with a lot of patience, a lot of confidence. I took my time and turning for home, I let him go a little bit. The way he finished was tremendous. I really like this horse. I rode him here when he broke his maiden on this surface (on April 10, 2016). I had a lot of optimism that he would get it done today.”
On Heart to Heart’s gutsy performance, Leparoux commented, “He’s the kind of horse you don’t want to fight – doesn’t matter how fast you are going. You have to ride him like that. We had a good post. In a way I wish I was inside, but in another way at least I could dictate my own race and see what happens. He was relaxed, he was comfortable the whole race and made his run. He ran a great race. He’s a lovely horse to ride. I wish he’d won a Grade 1 because he deserves it.”
The runner-up’s trainer, Brian Lynch, added, “You can’t ask for any more than he gave us today. He even tried to stick his nose out at the wire. I think Julien gave him an unbelievable ride, and (Heart to Heart) laid it down too. It’s just one of those things in racing. We did all the grunt work and somebody capitalized on it in the last jump.
“We’ll get him back to the barn, bed him deep tonight and let him have a real good night’s sleep. Then we’ll get put our heads together and come up with a game plan. I think coming back quick after the effort he put in today certainly wouldn’t be an option.”
The Maker’s 46 Mile boosted American’s Patriot resume to 5-0-3 from 11 starts. He has now earned $475,050 in addition to his newly minted Grade 1 status.
By Christine Oser