Wathnan Racing's heavy 1-2 favorite Instant Replay got up in the final jump to win the $250,000 Super Derby Sept. 6 by a head over longshot Perry County.
Instant Replay, under jockey Tim Thornton, was last after getting pinched at the start as Perry County, the longest shot in the field of five at 15-1, set the early fractions of :24.26 and :48.76 for the first half-mile. The pacesetter looked on his way to a monumental upset, but Instant Replay, who had been wide throughout the race, was gobbling up ground with every stride, putting his head in front at the wire. Fountain Lake was another 1 1/2 lengths back in third.
Instant Replay covered the 1 1/8 miles on a fast track in 1:50.78. He paid $3 to win.
"Just glad he got there," trainer Brad Cox said by phone shortly after the race. "He may have been compromised a little bit by the start and the wide trip, but we weren't expecting him to be part of the pace. There was more pace on paper than it looked."
"I definitely had some concerns coming down the lane," Thornton said. "I knew the pace was slow early. I found myself boxed up going into the first turn, so I knew they were crawling. (Perry County) was loose on the lead, so I knew I better try to get the jump on him so I tipped out. I was pretty nervous the last 10 jumps, but I was confident when I got there. I'm just thankful to all the connections."
Instant Replay improved his record to five wins from 10 starts and has now earned $638,678.
