Smooth Like Strait goes east to win Churchill's War Chant Stakes
Racing for the first time Saturday outside Southern California, Smooth Like Strait carried his form east and won Churchill Downs’ $100,000 War Chant Stakes.
The War Chant ran as the last of five stakes Churchill offered Saturday on its “Stephen Foster Preview Day” card. This turf mile for 3-year-old males drew a field of 13 with no clear favorite.
Under jockey John Velazquez, Smooth Like Strait broke from post No. 9 and went up to the front along with Island Commish. Those two moved in tandem up the back stretch through fractions of :23.90 and :48.24.
Smooth Like Strait and Island Commish were still side-by-side coming off the far turn, five lengths clear of the rest of the field. The Saffie Joseph Jr. trainee Island Commish ran out of gas in early stretch, and Smooth Like Strait flew on to stop the clock in 1:36.77.
Trained by Michael McCarthy, Smooth Like Strait returned $12.20 at 8-1 odds. Pixelate made a late charge to take home runner-up honors – and produce a $145.80 return on a $2 exacta – while 3-1 favorite Field Pass finished third.
Smooth Like Strait is a Kentucky-bred son of Midnight Lute who runs for owner/breeder Cannon Thoroughbreds, LLC. He’s now 3-for-7 lifetime, with the War Chant his second stakes score. The colt also took Del Mar’s Cecil B. DeMille Stakes (G3) last December as a 2-year-old.