Our Shot got his shot in the stretch run of the Woodford Stakes (G2T) Oct. 5 at Keeneland when jockey Luis Saez got him running room and the 5-year-old Kantharos gelding responded with a 1 3/4-length victory.
The judges examined the photo closely before anointing Charcoal as runner-up and Arzak as third in a multihorse blanket finish.
Our Shot took his customary early slot, tucked away among a solid field, through the early stages of the 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint. It was only as they straightened for home that the seas parted and he found his best stride. The gelding stopped the timer in 1:02.36 for the 5 1/2 furlongs over a firm turf course.
Away at 5-1, he returned $13.66 for a $2 win ticket.
"We really liked him for this race. His last two races at Saratoga were a little tricky. We had a lot of trouble but we couldn't wait to be here today and were pretty comfortable that he was going to do a pretty good race," Saez said.
Our Shot bagged his first stakes win, although trainer John Terranova II noted, "We've been close a couple of times. He's been doing well all summer. He had a couple of tight runs at Saratoga."
Those included a runner-up showing, beaten just a nose, in an optional claimer in July and another second, a head behind the talented Big Invasion, in the Harvey Pack Stakes Sept. 2 at Saratoga Race Course.
Bred in Pennsylvania by Dr. S. Mark Rayburg, the gelding runs for the partnership of Gatsas Stables, Steve Schoenfeld, and Terranova.
"He was coming into this race doing really well," the trainer added. "We saw a little something extra in him this week—his attitude, just his whole mental attitude and everything since he got here. So we were pretty confident he was going to run a good race."
Despite the progression, Terranova dashed hopes Our Shot might show up in Del Mar for the Breeders' Cup World Championships.
"We'll possibly give him a little break now. He's not Breeders' Cup eligible. I'll talk to the owners but we'd like to keep him around for a while so maybe not."
"Horses in this kind of race (turf sprints) tend to get a little better with age," he added. "They don't get to run that often. Maybe that has something to do with it. Charcoal is 8, so there you have it."
Arzak is a 6-year-old entire so the combined age of the first three finishers was 19.
Charcoal's owner, Ron Dowdy, sang a different song about the Breeders' Cup.
"On to Del Mar," Dowdy said, celebrating an outcome that was "really good, not great" in the Woodford.
Noting Charcoal had not hit the board in three previous experiences on the Keeneland turf, Dowdy cited course conditions.
"We've come close before. But the turf was always rock hard," he said. "The rain (downpours a week earlier) really helped us."
The also-rans in the Woodford included the 2023 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) winner Nobals, who finished in a dead heat for fifth with stablemate One Timer. Both are trained by Larry Rivelli. No Nay Hudson, a Wesley Ward trainee, reported 10th after a just-missed third in the Green Flash Handicap (G3T) in his previous start.
The second through eighth place finishers in the Woodford were separated by less than two lengths.
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