Juddmonte's Fulsome continues ascent with Matt Winn score
Juddmonte’s rapidly-improving homebred Fulsome collected his second straight stakes win as he overcame a sluggish start and rallied to defeat Kentucky Derby fifth-place finisher O Besos by 3 3/4 lengths in Saturday’s 24th running of the $150,000 Matt Winn Stakes (G3) for 3-year-olds at Churchill Downs.
Fulsome clocked 1 1/16 miles over a fast track in 1:42.88 under Florent Geroux, who rode the winner for trainer Brad Cox.
Fulsome broke slow in the field of seven and was rated in last down the backstretch as Tampa Bay Derby winner Helium dictated the terms through fractions of :23.75, :48.69 and 1:13.26. O Besos tracked from fourth and pulled himself into contention with the leader around the final turn.
When O Besos made his move, Fulsome quickly followed from the outside. The two appeared to be poised for a competitive stretch run but when they passed the final furlong marker together Fulsome took off and drew well clear for the win.
“I was pretty confident he could take some dirt in his face and got him to relax early,” Geroux said. “I was just hoping they were going fast up front after the slow break. He was able to go past those horses easily to win.”
The victory was worth $91,140 and improved Fulsome’s overall record to 7-4-1-0—$373,854. The 3-year-old is now perfect in three starts on dirt after running on turf in the first four starts of his career. Previously, Fulsome won the $300,000 Oaklawn Stakes in Arkansas on May 1 by 1 1/4 lengths.
“He had two solid works here at Churchill after winning the Oaklawn Stakes,” Cox said. “We were very confident in him by the way he was training. He got off a step slow but he really finished up fast today and was impressive doing so.”
Fulsome returned $5.40 as the 8-5 favorite. O Besos, ridden by Marcelino Pedroza Jr., returned $3 and $2.40 as the 9-5 second choice and finished 1 1/4 lengths in front of Helium. Southern Passage was another half-length back in fourth, and was followed by Ready to Pounce, Game Day Play and Sittin On Go. Hello Hot Rod was scratched.
Fulsome, a son of Into Mischief out of the Distorted Humor mare Flourish, was bred in Kentucky by his owners.
The Matt Winn is named in honor of the famed Churchill Downs president that served as the driving force in the development of the Downs and his beloved Kentucky Derby.