August 5, 2024
TORONTO — By Matthew Lomon
King Arthur
It was clear from the get-go that the nine other hopefuls in Saturday’s $1 million Whitney (G1) at Saratoga stood no chance against the team of Arthur’s Ride and jockey Junior Alvarado.
Leaving the gate from post position nine, the dynamic duo wasted little team jumping out to an early lead; a move which some may deem a tad overzealous.
This was not the case, however, for Arthur’s Ride, as the 3-year-old colt’s edge ballooned to five lengths before closing out 2 ¼-lengths ahead of rival Crupi.
A slight underdog at 6-1, the Bill Mott trainee’s stellar showing paid a cool $15.80.
Winning Strategy
Everything went according to plan for 3-year-old filly Ways and Means in Saturday’s $485,000 Test (G1) at Saratoga.
The Flavien Prat mount more than delivered on her short 3-5 price tag with a smooth 2 ½-length clearance for her first graded trophy.
It took until her fourth attempt, but Ways and Means was finally able to breakthrough on the graded stage.
While a smaller five-horse field may have worked in the Chad Brown charge’s favour, this was the kind of performance the Kentucky-bred’s connections had been waiting for.
Ways and Means A+ effort paid $3.40.
Like Clockwork
Another day, another Adare Manor victory.
The highly accomplished mare added to her already extensive resume with a textbook trip in the $400,000 Clement L. Hirsch (G1) on Saturday at Del Mar.
Coming as no surprise, Adare Manor, who closed as the 3-5 favourite, had no trouble making oddsmakers look good.
Under the hand of rider Juan Hernandez, the 5-year-old evened up with 5-2 foe Scylla in the midstretch before peeling off for a 2 ¾-length triumph.
The Hirsch score, which was Adare Manor’s third straight win, pushed her lifetime line to 18: 10-5-0.
It paid a modest $3.20.
Scene Stealer
Cameo Performance stole the show in Saturday’s $250,000 Nashville Derby at Ellis Park for his first career stakes title.
Like most other bit parts, it appeared at first that Cameo Performance was no more than a small player with an unmemorable role.
That changed when the 3-year-old filly went from seat filler to scene stealer with a valiant push down the stretch that vaulted him from dead last to first.
The edge-of-your-seat turnaround rewarded Cameo Performance with his second career trip to the winner’s circle and first in three tries at the stakes level.
At 5-2, the Luan Machado mount paid $7.84.
Next!
The winner of Sunday afternoon’s $150,000 Birdstone Stakes, Next, won by 22 ¼ lengths. On average, one length is approximately eight feet. By that measure, Next finished 178 feet ahead of the second place finisher, Masquerade.
An NBA court is 94 feet long. Therefore, the distance between first and second was that of nearly two regulation size NBA courts.
Long story short, Next dominated the 1 ¾-mile affair.
The Birdstone represented the 6-year-old gelding’s 12th career tally and sixth in a row dating back to the 2023 Brooklyn (G2).
At 1-9 (shocker), Next paid $2.10.