Free Eagle Flies to Victory in the Prince of Wales's Stakes
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It seemed fitting that California Chrome, America's reigning horse of the year, would be rubbing hooves amongst royalty. After all, his story is a fairy tale come true and those usually have a royal ending, right? But as written about on HRN by Brian Zipse, Californian Chrome's much anticipated, and somewhat controversial, run in the Prince of Wales's Stakes would be a no-go. Unfortunately, even fairy tales have their kinks to overcome. Cinderella had a fairy godmother that didn't work past midnight, Snow White naively accepted gifts from strangers, and California Chrome had developed an abscess on his foot. But the show must go on . . .
Even without the American star, this year's Prince of Wales's Stakes race turned out to be quite the field, attracting horses from five different countries. Although, in the end, it came down to the two favorites, and a dramatic ending between Ireland’s Free Eagle and the English trained The Grey Gatsby, that would steal the show.
It was a clean break at the gate for the field of nine who then quickly began to vie for their positions. The Grey Gatsby appeared to be trying in vain to move along the outside. Meanwhile, France’s Gailo Chop had no problems settling into the early lead. After the first turn Gailo Chop was still ahead of the pack with a comfortable, two length lead. Behind him it was New Zealand’s Criterion, while Free Eagle took third place from the outside, followed by The Grey Gatsby on the inside in fourth, just ahead of Frankie Dettori on Western Hymn. The halfway mark found The Grey Gatsby in traffic trouble, although Free Eagle was able to remain in the clear, as he breezed into second place.
In the rush for home, The Grey Gatsby looked like part of an oreo cookie while sandwiched between horses. Free Eagle, still in the clear, raced ahead and easily took the lead, opening up by a working margin of about two lengths. Meanwhile, with great effort, The Grey Gatsby was finally able to break free from the pack, specifically, Frankie Dettori and Western Hymn. He then made an impressive move after the leader, but just missed the mark by a short head.
The luck of the Irish would not do justice to the smart ride by jockey Pat Smullen who stayed just ahead and wide enough to keep Free Eagle from being caged. By contrast, The Grey Gatsby had traffic trouble to overcome for most of the ride, but that made his late bid for the finish all the more impressive. It will be another anticipated race to see these two match up again. Yet today, with a great ride that kept him in the clear, Free Eagle remained true to his name and flew to the finish line first.
~Written by Joanne Prieto
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