Final Arrow prevails by half-length in Kip Deville

The 2-year-old gelding Final Arrow didn't convince the public when he broke his maiden by 8-1/2 lengths last time out at Remington Park in a $25,000 claiming event. He backed it up with a huge step up in class to the $75,000 Kip Deville Stakes.

Final Arrow proved he can run at this level with a victory at 41-1 odds. Andy Gladd trained the long shot for T and M Precision Services of Claremore, Okla. Jockey David Cabrera booted home the winner of the Kip Deville in a time of 1:10.30 for the six-furlongs against nine other juveniles.

Five horses went to the lead down the backstretch, sprinting to fractions of :21.61 for the quarter-mile and :44.39 for the half-mile. By the time they reached the quarter-mile pole, only Final Arrow and Land Battle remained of the five speedballs. The two of them battled down the stretch until Final Arrow finally prevailed by a half-length. Land Battle held on for second and Flat Lucky was a late-running third.

The winner's 41-1 odds keyed huge payouts as Final Arrow returned $85.0 to win, $41.80 to place and $11.20 to show. Land Battle paid $7.60 to place and $4.80 to show. Flat Lucky paid $3 to show.

The win is the second from five career starts for Final Arrow, a Texas-bred son of Crossbow from the Magic Cat mare Final Trick. He was bred in the Lone Star state by Wayne Sanders and Larry Hirsch. The winner’s share of the Kip Deville was $44,745 to run his total earnings to $58,475.

The Kip Deville Stakes is named after the Oklahoma-bred who broke his maiden status at Remington Park in 2005, eventually winning the Breeders’ Cup Mile in 2007 and becoming the all-time richest state-bred horse.