Independence Hall out-classes his Jerome Stakes foes

While not as visually impressive a victory as the last time Independence Hall appeared at Aqueduct Racetrack, Wednesday’s $150,000 Jerome Stakes win marked an important first step for the colt along the 2020 Kentucky Derby trail nonetheless.

The son of Constitution, who misbehaved in the paddock, then broke last in a field of six, got by on superior talent when surging from back to front through an opening half mile. Having assumed the lead in the far turn, he held on under jockey Jose Ortiz, who guided his mount to a clear, outside trip.

An overmatched field offered no response once Independence Hall made his early rally, clicking through four furlongs in 47.47 seconds. Ortiz did momentarily go to the whip in the stretch, keeping Independence Hall straight, before finishing up in a hand ride.

They hit the wire in 1:37.27 for a one-turn mile, four lengths in front of Prince of Pharoahs and Bourbon Bay, who finished in a dead heat for second. Celtic Striker was third. 

"I thought it was good," said Independence Hall's trainer, Michael Trombetta. "I want to go back and watch, but Jose said the track's a little bit tiring. He didn't get away good. This probably got to the bottom of him a little bit because it's been two months and this is a different track than he ran on last time. This is the old winter track now.

"I'm just glad to get through it, and it's one more step in the direction we want to go."

This was the first start for Independence Hall since he aired out in the Nov. 3 Nashua Stakes (G3), also at Aqueduct, and emerged as a top early Derby hopeful. He proved a handful in the paddock that day, too, and going back to his Parx Racing debut Independence Hall left Trombetta with gate issues to consider.

“He schooled well," Trombetta said, "but he’s obviously different in the afternoon when he comes over. He’s smart enough to know it’s time to do something. I’m going to have to keep working on that. That’s — I don’t want to call it a problem, but it’s a concern.”

Once into stride Wednesday, Independence Hall largely ran to expectations for the connections of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Twin Creeks Racing Stables, which bought in with original owners Robert and Kathleen Verratti after the debut.

Sporting a 3-for-3 record, Independence Hall is expected to head south to Tampa Bay Downs to continue on the Derby trail. His 10 points put him in an early tie for fourth on the leader board led by Breeders' Cup Juvenile upsetter Storm the Court.

"I think he came home in 24 2/5 or 24 3/5 (seconds), which on this racetrack today is probably pretty darn good," said Aron Wellman, president of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. "So I don't think two turns is going to be any problem.

"It wasn't that we were afraid of running two turns in his first race as a 3-year-old. It was just a matter of timing and convenience and making sure that we had flexibility and proper spacing hopefully for the next handful of months here."

Horse Racing Nation's senior writer, Matt Shifman, contributed to this report.