By Steve Sherack
ELMONT, NY – Juddmonte's streaking champion sprinter Elite Power (Curlin) kicked off the graded stakes portion of Saturday's absolutely stacked GI Belmont S. program with a sensational performance in the GII True North S.
Off as the 3-4 favorite, last year's GI Breeders' Cup Sprint hero looked to be at a major disadvantage from the go in the 6 1/2-furlong affair, chasing in an outside fourth as the field of six crawled through fractions of :23.25 and :46.12. The blaze-faced chestnut, nonetheless, ranged up while three wide approaching the quarter pole, inhaled the top two as they straightened and was only shown the whip in deep stretch by Irad Ortiz, Jr. to win by a geared-down 1 3/4 lengths over last-out GIII Jacques Cartier S. winner Anarchist (Distorted Humor). 'TDN Rising Star' Strobe (Into Mischief), second in the GIII Count Fleet Sprint H. at Oaklawn, could do no better than a well-beaten third as the 2-1 second choice after sitting a dream trip in second.
“He got the job done,” said winning Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, who won this same race three times back in the 1990s with Diablo (1991), Lion Cavern (1993) and Richter Scale (1998). “I noticed the fractions, :23 and change, weren't overly quick, but he's still got a pretty good punch to him. He really is exceptional. He's gotten very good.”
Mott added that Elite Power may target Saratoga's GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. July 29.
Elite Power has now won seven straight, including his first try in stakes company in the GII Vosburgh S. Oct. 8, on racing's biggest stage at the aforementioned Championships in Lexington Nov. 5 and the G3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint on the Saudi Cup undercard most recently Feb. 25. The distant runner-up in the latter Gunite (Gun Runner) has since followed with a third-place finish in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen S. and an authoritative win in Churchill's Aristides S. last weekend, good for a gaudy 108 Beyer Speed Figure.
“He's such a nice and exciting horse,” Ortiz Jr. said of Elite Power. “He's won his last seven starts. He was great last year. You can see his performances and campaign last year was great. I'm hoping he's the same or better than he was last year, so far it looks great. He hasn't made any mistakes out there.”
Pedigree Notes:
Elite Power, a $900,000 KEESEP yearling, is one of 53 graded winners, 20 at the Grade I level, for the mighty Curlin.
Broodmare sire Vindication, the unbeaten winner of the 2002 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Arlington, is responsible for 12 graded winners, six at the top level.
Elite Power is bred on the same Curlin/Vindication cross as GI Preakness S. winner Exaggerator. Elite Power's dam Broadway's Alibi, a MGSW & GI Kentucky Oaks runner-up and Robsham homebred, brought $2.15 million from Alpha Delta Stables while in foal to Smart Strike at the 2013 KEENOV sale. Broadway's Alibi is also represented by a Curlin colt of 2021. She was bred to City of Light for 2023.
Elite Power's fourth dam is champion 2-year-old filly and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies heroine Eliza (Mt. Livermore). This is also the family of GISW and young sire Dialed In (Mineshaft).
“The oddity of this guy is that dirt sprinting isn't anything we've ever really geared our program for,” Juddmonte's Garrett O'Rourke said. “Obviously, we purchased this guy and it's really nice that for the first time we're winning races that we hadn't before. These are races that we'd never even competed in before. This is very satisfying.”
Saturday, Belmont Park
TRUE NORTH S.-GII, $250,000, Belmont, 6-10, 4yo/up, 6 1/2f, 1:15.65, ft.
1–ELITE POWER, 124, h, 5, by Curlin
1st Dam: Broadway's Alibi (MGSW & GISP, $521,500), by Vindication
2nd Dam: Broadway Gold, by Seeking the Gold
3rd Dam: Miss Doolittle, by Storm Cat
($900,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Juddmonte; B-Alpha Delta
Stables, LLC (KY); T-William I. Mott; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. $137,500.
Lifetime Record: Ch. Male Sprinter, GISW-USA, GSW-Sau,
10-7-0-1, $2,443,211. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Anarchist, 120, c, 4, Distorted Humor–Vicarious Won, by
Elusive Quality. ($75,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Ilium Stables, LLC;
B-Centaur Farms, Inc. (KY); T-Doug F. O'Neill. $50,000.
3–Strobe, 118, c, 4, Into Mischief–Flashing, by A.P. Indy.
'TDN Rising Star'. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $30,000.
Margins: 1 3/4, 3 3/4, 2HF. Odds: 0.75, 12.30, 2.10.
Also Ran: Today's Flavor, Fearless, Synthesis.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
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