After an unusual delay before the start caused by Smile Happy, favorite West Will Power delivered a perfect performance for a half-length victory over Rattle N Roll in the $1 million Stephen Foster (G1) on Saturday at Ellis Park.
With temperatures in the 90s at the little track in Henderson, Kentucky, aka as the ‘Pea Patch,’ there was a delay in loading the horses into the starting gate. Smile Happy, the 3-1 third choice in the field of eight, needed to be backed up about an eighth of mile by several outriders before being loaded into gate 5.
Earlier on the biggest card in the history of Ellis Park, the $400,000 Fleur de Lis (G2) saw five of the eight horses scratched by their trainers, with Pauline’s Pearl winning and runner-up Bellamore disqualified to third for interference with A Mo Reay, who was elevated to second. In the Wise Dan (G2), 46-1 longshot Stitched edged Get Smokin by a neck.
West Will Power, trained by Brad Cox, earned an automatic, all-fees paid berth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita on Nov. 4 as the race is part of the BC challenge series.
Ridden by Flavien Prat, who also rode Stitched to victory, West Will Power ($6.14) covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:47.93 over a track listed as fast on a hot, humid day.
Happy American at 48-1, finished third, followed by Last Samurai Smile Happy, Stilleto Boy, Speed Bias, and Proxy.
Kenny McPeek trains Rattle N Roll and Smile Happy.
“He’s done this kind of stuff before,’ McPeek said of Smile Happy’s behavior. “He’s been consistently difficult and we’ll have to work on that.”
West Will Power finished third in the Alysheba (G2) in his previous start on May 5, and now has a Grade 1 win two go with a pair of Grade 2s – the New Orleans Classic (G2) and the 2022 Hagyard Fayette (G2). He’s 4-2-1-1 in 2023 with seasonal earnings of $1,071,460 for owners Gary and Mary West. The 6-year-old homebred is a son of Bernardini.
Speed Bias led at the start as West Will Power tracked the leader in second place. As Speed Bias tired after three-quarters, West Will Power took the lead inside the quarter pole and held off Rattle N Roll and Happy American.
“He was cruising all the way around there,” Prat said. “He just carried me home to the wire down the stretch. I was really impressed by the way he won this winter at Fair Grounds in the New Orleans Classic. It was a different setup last time out in the Alysheba). He came back here to Ellis and the race shape was much more to his style.”
Stephen Foster Day was held at Ellis Park after Churchill Downs suspended racing and moved its spring meet due to a high rate of horse deaths at the track around the time of the Kentucky Derby (G1).
Stitched pulls an upset in $400,000 Wise Dan (G2)
Get Smokin was looking good until Stitched came through and caught the leader to win by a neck.
The second longest shot in the field of 10 returned $94.50 for a $2 win bet. Get Smokin finished a length ahead of third-place finisher and even-money favorite Set Piece.
Trained by Greg Foley, who earlier on the card won the Kelly’s Landing Stakes with Bango, the winner covered the 1 1/16 miles over a good turf course in 1:40.97.
“I’m really grateful I got the mount,” said Prat, who picked up the mount from Marcelino Pedroza, Jr. “He broke well from the gate and was able to be in a good position when we needed to make a move. He gave me a chance to get into the race and he did things from there.”
Pauline’s Pearl wins $400,000 Fleur de Lis (G2)
A field of three broke from the starting gate after five horses were scratched by their trainers, and Pauline’s Pearl ($6.52) posted her eighth career victory with a three-quarter length victory over Bellamore.
After a stewards’ inquiry, Bellamore was disqualified and placed third for interference to A Mo Rey through the stretch.
The 5-year-old daughter of Tapit is trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen and was ridden by Joel Rosario. She improved her career record to 19-8-3-3 with earnings of $2,127,400.
“She broke away well from the gate and I got her into a good spot early,” Rosario said. “She was relaxed watching the two horses in front of her, so I didn’t want to change anything too early. In the stretch she kept on coming forward and was able to get by late. She tried very hard to get by them.”
Winning time for the 1 1/8 miles was 1:49.59.
The scratches were Heartyconstitution, Moon Swag, Music Street, Royal Take Charge, and Soul of an Angel.
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
