Blue Grass Stakes 2015 Results: Winner, Payouts and Order of Finish
A loaded field of would-be Kentucky Derby contenders (four horses were ranked in the top-40 point standings) competed in the Blue Grass Stakes on Saturday. Between Ocho Ocho Ocho, Frammento, Classy Class and Danzig Moon, the field was full of talent. However, nobody had the class to best Carpe Diem in what proved to be a rather impressive performance at Keeneland.
Carpe Diem, a three-year-old colt sired by Giant's Causeway, solidified himself as a top contender for the Derby, earning 100 points toward a spot in the Run for the Roses and the lion's share of the updated $1 million purse for 2015.
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Meanwhile, Danzig Moon put himself in a position to run on May 2, earning 40 points for his second-place showing. The third-place finisher, Ocho Ocho Ocho, earned 20 points and now has 30 in total, making him a strong candidate for the Derby field.
With the first-, second- and third-place finishers addressed, let's take a quick look at the payouts for the Blue Grass, before moving into a full recap of the race.
Winner and Payouts
| Carpe Diem | $2.80 | $2.40 | $2.10 |
| Danzig Moon | -- | $7.80 | $5.00 |
| Ocho Ocho Ocho | -- | -- | $3.20 |
Carpe Diem was the heavily bet favorite, so a low payout was expected. Straight exactas were money, though, if you had enough faith in the Todd Pletcher-trained colt to key him on top of your ticket.
Beyond that, finding money in this race proved rather difficult, as everyone and their mother had Carpe Diem on top of their tickets.
Recap
With little early speed to speak of and a new dirt track that plays well to coming off the pace, the race was run at a particularly modest pace.
Predictably, Ocho Ocho Ocho broke first up the rail, with Carpe Diem riding less than a length back in second place. After a quarter in 24 seconds, Carpe Diem was riding right alongside of Ocho Ocho Ocho, matching him stride for stride.
The first half went in just over 49 seconds, and Carpe Diem made a second run at Ocho Ocho Ocho, while Classy Class and Danzig Moon made moves along the outside.
Unsurprisingly, though, no horse had enough in the tank to beat Carpe Diem.
At the quarter pole, the Giant's Causeway colt began to take control of the race, running a strong final quarter, good for a 2.5-length victory.
Beaten by 12 lengths by Carpe Diem back in their last meeting, Danzig Moon turned in an impressive performance this time around. Though he was still beaten by several lengths, the son of Malibu Moon logged a second-place finish, ensuring trainer Mark Casse a spot in the Derby next month.
Ocho Ocho Ocho, who led most of the race, didn't have nearly enough to hold off a charging Carpe Diem and fell back into third place. Frammento, on the other hand, made a strong charge late, but with little in the way of positioning, the Midshipman colt had to settle for fourth place.
All told, this proved to be a glorified workout for Carpe Diem, who finished the race with a time of 1:49.77, looking quite strong after a monthlong layoff.
Twitter user Darren Fox provided a great first look at the impressive young colt as he headed toward the winner's circle.
With his head held high, it looks clear that Carpe Diem still had a little left in the tank following his victory, which bodes well for his recovery and training as he moves forward this month.
The next stop for him and trainer Todd Pletcher is the Derby.
Final Order of Finish
| 1 | Carpe Diem | 2-5 | Todd Pletcher | John Velazquez |
| 2 | Danzig Moon | 15-1 | Mark Casse | Julien Leparoux |
| 3 | Ocho Ocho Ocho | 5-1 | James Cassidy | Santiago Gonzalez |
| 4 | Frammento | 10-1 | Nicholas Zito | Gary Stevens |
| 5 | Classy Class | 9-1 | Kiaran McLaughlin | Junior Alvarado |
| 6 | Gorgeous Bird | 32-1 | Ian Wilkes | Brian Hernandez Jr. |
| 7 | Unrivaled | 17-1 | Marya Montoya | Robby Albarado |
| 8 | Pepper Roani | 38-1 | Michael Maker | Miguel Mena |
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