By Stefanie Grimm
In a division lacking the star power of previous years, another contender threw his hat in the ring Friday as Federal Judge (Army Mule) wired the field in the GII Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix at Keeneland to earn his spot into the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint. Making his third start of the form cycle off over a year-long layoff, the 4-year-old gelding picked up his second straight win having also taken a field of Saratoga allowance runners gate to wire over nearly this distance Aug. 31.
Clearly the speed of the speed, the 8-5 second choice drew the rail on a fast main track and exploded from along the fence under Flavien Prat and had a clear advantage within the opening strides. Comedy Time (Speightstown) and Swirvin (Girvin) moved together in a joint chase for second into the far turn but neither was fast enough to make up any real ground on the leader who was still alone past the quarter pole. Prat, who was mostly hands and heels down the stretch, kept Federal Judge alert to the line in an impressive finish ahead of the closing race favorite, GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap winner Nakatomi (Firing Line).
“Yeah, he made it look simple,” admitted Prat. “He broke very well today. I was a bit worried with (breaking from) the one (post), but he broke sharp and got himself into the race and did the rest. I thought he was going a good clip, but he was comfortable and he was at ease.”
Asked if the team had high expectations for the horse, WinStar's Elliott Walden added: “Yeah, we did. We've loved him all along. He needed a little break and we actually had to geld him. He's such a beautiful horse and he got real heavy on us, so we gelded him to lighten him up and it really did the trick.”
Pedigree Note:
Federal Judge is the 12th stakes winner for Army Mule and the only winner to date out of Congarette. Third dam Away From Home produced near-millionaire GISW Home At Last (Quadratic) along with GSW Niner's Home (Forty Niner), the dam of GSW and $1,000,000 KEESEP yearling Indy Groove (A.P. Indy). Federal Judge has a 2-year-old Lord Nelson half-sister yet to race, a yearling half-brother by Raging Bull (Fr) and a weanling full-sister who is cataloged in the Keeneland November Sale.
#1 Federal Judge gets his first graded stakes win in the G2 Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix at Keeneland and secures his spot in the #BreedersCup! 👨⚖️@bradcoxracing trains the gelding for @winstarfarm and @SienaFarmKY. Flavien Prat was up.
🎥 #TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/8JUOMFIKWv
— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) October 4, 2024
Friday, Keeneland
STOLL KEENON OGDEN PHOENIX S.-GII, $314,275, Keeneland, 10-4, 3yo/up, 6f, 1:08.20, ft.
1–FEDERAL JUDGE, 121, g, 4, by Army Mule
1st Dam: Congarette, by Congaree
2nd Dam: Queen of Humor, by Distorted Humor
3rd Dam: Away From Home, by Ack Ack
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($40,000 Ylg
'21 OBSWIN; $200,000 Ylg '21 FTKJUL). O-Siena Farm LLC and
WinStar Farm LLC; B-Caperlane Farm (FL); T-Brad H. Cox;
J-Flavien Prat. $181,350. Lifetime Record: 6-4-1-0, $402,960.
Werk Nick Rating: D.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Nakatomi, 125, g, 5, Firing Line–Applelicious, by Flatter.
($18,000 Wlg '19 KEENOV; $25,000 Ylg '20 FTKOCT; $205,000
4yo '23 FTKHRA). O-Qatar Racing LLC and Mrs. Fitriani Hay;
B-Arnold Zetcher LLC & Crestwood Farm (KY); T-Wesley A.
Ward. $68,250.
3–Comedy Town, 121, g, 6, Speightstown–Unbridled Humor,
by Distorted Humor. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O-Ten Twenty
Racing and Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.; B-Live Oak Stud (FL); T-Saffie A.
Joseph, Jr. $29,250.
Margins: 5HF, HF, 1 1/4. Odds: 1.74, 1.07, 7.18.
Also Ran: Here Mi Song, My Buddy B, Manny Wah, Swirvin. Scratched: Banjo Chris.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
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