Vinery Racing Spiral Stakes: Went the Day Well Wins Running Away
Went the Day Well impressed today when he ran away from his competition on the final furlong of the Grade III Vinery Racing Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park.
By taking the $282,000 purse that goes to the winner, Went the Day Well has punched his ticket to the Kentucky Derby on May 5th.
He closed as the third betting choice at 8/5.
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If you got a sense of Deja Vu when you saw the race, no there were no changes made to The Matrix. And no, it wasn't Animal Kingdom winning the race again.
What looks familiar is that the son of Proud Citizen is by Animal Kingdom's same connections. That is owner Team Valor International, trainer Graham Motion and jockey John Velazquez. Mark Ford is also listed as the co-owner.
Todd Pletcher's Heavy Breathing was the prohibitive favorite at 1/9 and took the lead early taking advantage of his No. 3 post. Everyone in the race seemed to be expecting Handsome Mike to go for the lead, but if you read my preview, you knew why that didn't happen.
Went the Day Well had a good start although he had a small stumble about 10 meters from the start. Jockey John Velazquez relaxed him and placed him in fourth place behind Heavy Breathing and red Jack, who along with Ill Conceived on the outside, stalked the early leader.
Heavy Breathing ran a first quarter-mile in :23.10 and was being pressured by Ill Conceived. Jockey Javier Castellano had an easy hold on Heavy Breathing but the pace had quickened from the start.
When they reached the back-stretch Heavy Breathing was in front but just by a head over Ill Conceived, with Coach Royal and Tizanexpense also pressuring the pace setter.
Went the Day Well fell back to fifth as they pace kept quickening. The half-mile was a fast one in :46.98
When they arrived to the three-quarter mile pole (1:11.86), Heavy Breathing was still stalked by Ill Conceived, but Went the Day Well was positioning himself in third place and gaining ground.
Right here, jockey John Velazquez made a smart move by taking him to to the outside and placed him right alongside Holiday Promise who was advancing one the far outside. He avoided being trapped on the inside going into the home stretch.
Once they hit the home stretch, Went the Day Well shifted hard to the inside as he was battling both Heavy Breathing on the inside and Holiday Promise on the outside. But once Velazquez straighten him, he ran away from both to win by 3.5 lengths.
Heavy Breathing might have been affected by the fast pace he set today or just running in synthetic for the first time. But he didn't show the rating capability he showed in his two wins. He got tired late, but I am inclined to think he didn't like the synthetic surface.
Holiday Promise, also trained by Todd Pletcher, was making a big move but flattened out when Went the Day Well kicked into high gear and left him in the dust.
Trainer Graham Motion doesn't like to compare this colt to Animal Kingdom, but the similarities are striking. Went the Day Well's final time was not an impressive one (1:51.33), but consider Animal Kingdom''s final time on this race was a full second slower (1:52.32.)
Went the Day Well started his racing career as a two-year-old overseas in Great Britain. He finished second in his two races, both closing fast at distances of one mile and a mile-and-70-yards, giving the impression he could use some more distance.
He was previously trained by Ed McMahon but was turned to Graham Motion's stable when he was moved to the states. The colt started working at the Palm Meadows training center and debuts in the USA on Feb. 4.
He finished fourth on a race he started slowly and finish strong. Then he won his last race just like he did this one, edging away.
Went the Day Well is still a bit raw in his running, but so was Animal Kingdom last year at this moment. And if you see Went the Day Well has run well in turf, well in dirt and now on synthetic.
It's starting to sound familiar.
What could be next? A win in the Kentucky Derby? Now that would be a Deja Vu.
Vinery Racing Spiral Stakes | Grade III | Purse: $500,000 | Distance: 1-1/8 Miles
| 4 | Went the Day Well | John R. Velazquez | 12.40 | 6.00 | 4.40 |
| 5 | Holiday Promise | Junior Alvarado | 21.80 | 10.80 | |
| 3 | Heavy Breathing | Javier Castellano | 3.60 | ||
| Also ran: 12 - Handsome Mike , 11 - Stealcase , 6 - All Squared Away , 7 - Ill Conceived , 1 - Russian Greek , 9 - Tizanexpense , 2 - Red Jack , 10 - Mr. Prankster , 8 - Coach Royal | |||||
Fractional Times: :23.10, :46.98, 1:11.86, 1:38.07 Final Time: 1:51.33
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