Wathnan Racing's Cagliostro continued his rise through the ranks June 30 with a sharp victory in the $279,875 Hanshin Stakes at Churchill Downs, his first stakes win.
After two graded placings at age 3, the son of Upstart has been at the top of his game at 4. Second last time out in the 1 1/8-mile Blame Stakes (G3), a prep for the June 29 $1 million Stephen Foster (G1), trainer Cherie Devaux decided it was best to cut back to the one-turn mile of the Hanshin.
"It looked like, in the Blame, that was as far as he wanted to go," DeVaux said. "Stretching him out wasn't going to be ideal. We wanted to see if cutting back was going to make the difference."
The difference was made as jockey Flavien Prat sat just outside pacesetters Zozos and Extra Anejo. Following fractions of :23.09 and :46.09, Prat cued his mount to take command at the quarter pole where he opened up and repelled the challenges of Tumbarumba and Raise Cain, who finished second and third, respectively.
In the end, Cagliostro was a one-length winner with a final time of 1:34.87. He paid $10.44 to win.
"He showed a lot of promise and potential, it just took a little time to get there," DeVaux said. "The blinkers help. I also think the maturity and time really makes the difference."
The colt bred in Florida by Lance Colwell and Janice Clark is now 3-for-11 lifetime with earnings of $436,668.
Video: Hanshin S. Presented by JRA (BT)
Raging Torrent Shows Ability in Maxfield
While Cagliostro appears headed on the path to the Nov. 2 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) got an exciting new addition from the $173,700 Maxfield Overnight Stakes in Raging Torrent.
Fresh off a dominating gate-to-wire victory in a May 4 allowance at Churchill Downs, jockey Antonio Fresu employed the same tactics as the Maximus Mischief colt powered to a 2 1/4-length victory through fractions of :22.37, :44.65, and 1:09.22, completing the seven furlongs in 1:22.04.
Otto the Conqueror and World Record chased throughout but were no match and finished second and third, respectively. Raging Torrent paid $4.16 for his win.
Grade 3-placed at 2, Mark Davis' colt has had a career renaissance since cutting back to sprints.
"We had this dream that he was going to be our Kentucky Derby horse," said trainer Doug O'Neill. "I think one turn he's just a special, special horse. He's a 3-year-old, so the waters are going to get deeper and deeper, but he's got the ability."
Video: Maxfield Overnight S. (BT)
Walkathon Walks the Dog in the Anchorage
Whitham Thoroughbreds' homebred Walkathon also showed plenty of front-running ability as she wired the $175,000 Anchorage Overnight Stakes.
A two-time grade 3 winner, trainer Ian Wilkes described the 5-year-old Twirling Candy mare as an honest runner. Walkathon was able to walk at her leisure through fractions of :24.18, :49.54, and 1:14.01.
Completing the 1 1/8 miles on turf in 1:49.69, Walkathon paid $8.10 while defeating Forever After All by a half-length with Heavenly Sunday behind them in third.
"When they walk the dog like that...that really helped her," said Wilkes. "She's got a very short run, but a very good run. (Jockey) Brian (Hernandez) was able to use it at the right time."
