Once again Trikari got the better of the handicappers who overlooked him.
Two starts back, the Amerman Racing 3-year-old won his initial graded stakes in stunning fashion, taking the American Turf Stakes (G2T) at 47-1 odds.
The odds were much lower July 6 when the son of Oscar Performance became a grade 1 winner, but he was hardly fancied by the betting public.
Sent off at 5-1 odds in a small field of five, Trikari once again put his class and determination on display as he fended off a determined White Palomino to win the $727,500 Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) by a head after an exciting stretch duel.
"He hasn't done much wrong at all," winning trainer Graham Motion said. "The only time he did anything wrong was the first start at Keeneland. He ran so greenly that day. He was just a big baby."
After finishing 12th on turf in his Oct. 28 debut at Keeneland, Trikari has been a gem of consistency for Motion and the Amermans, who bought him for just $27,500 from the Ordonez Thoroughbreds consignment at the Ocala Breeders' October Yearling Sale. Of his six ensuing starts, the $996,630 earner won four of them with a second and most recently a third, when he lost by a nose and neck in the Penn Mile Stakes (G3T).
"He's a lovely horse," Motion said
The Amermans owned two of the five starters in the Belmont Derby as they also sent out Endlessly, who trailed throughout and finished fifth as the 8-5 second choice. Motion was initially concerned about giving the owners two horses in the race but felt he couldn't skip it when the field came up so small for a grade 1 stakes.
"When it was a five-horse field I had to be here and I wanted to know if he could handle the distance because it helps us decide what to do the rest of the year," Motion said.
After winning the 1 3/16-mile Belmont Derby, the Aug. 3 Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) at Saratoga Race Course, also at 1 3/16 miles, would seem a natural fit.
"We'll strongly look at it," Motion said.
Trikari and White Palomino were in the top two throughout as White Palomino and Flavien Prat led through fractions of :25 and :50.24 over firm turf.
Turning for home, jockey John Velazquez launched his move on Trikari ($12.40) and edged away to a short lead at the eighth pole. But James Bakke and Gerald Isbister's White Palomino showed the same pluck as he did for trainer Chad Brown in the prep for the Belmont Derby when he set the pace in the Pennine Ridge Stakes (G2T) before losing by a head. The son of Kitten's Joy dug down and kept battling to the wire but could not get past Trikari.
Final time was 1:54.71.
"I wanted to make sure somebody else went (to the front) instead of me. He settled nice though, and at the five-sixteenths pole, I made sure I put a little pressure on the horse in front because he was just waiting. I got him kind of quickly and then he came back at me and mine put his head down again. It was a nice run. Either of us was going to win if we got the head in front, and that's what we did," Velazquez said.
Prat on White Palomino said his colt ran well despite waiting on rivals in the stretch.
"We had an easy lead and I was trying to get him going early, but he was unfortunately waiting a bit for horses. The winner got the jump on us (but) he came back at the end. It was a good run." Prat said. "He fought really hard and the winner just had a better kick turning for home. It was too comfortable. I was going too easy and I was trying to get him going a bit in the turn to get myself going, but unfortunately once that horse came and hooked up with us, then he got going."
Finishing third was Pennine Ridge winner Legend of Time, who was the 3-2 favorite. The Godolphin 3-year-old was boxed in along the rail behind the leaders in the stretch and couldn't find room until it was too late, winding up 1 1/4 lengths behind White Palomino.
"We'll just draw a line through it and go again in the Saratoga Derby," said Charlie Appleby, who trains the son of Sea The Stars. "They crawled around there and we could never get out."
Bred by Michael Slezak and Amy Boll in Kentucky, Trikari was originally bought for $9,000 from the Buckland Sales consignment at the 2022 Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale. Out of the Harlan's Holiday mare Dynamic Holiday, he is her sixth foal and first winner. She also has a Beau Liam yearling colt.
Trikari became the first grade 1 winner for Mill Ridge Farm stallion Oscar Performance with the win. A homebred for the Amermans, Oscar Performance counts the 2017 edition of this race among his four grade 1 wins. Trikari is one of four graded winners this year for the third-crop sire, with others including Endlessly, Red Carpet Ready, and Tumbarumba. He stood the 2024 breeding season in Kentucky for $25,000.
