It took Terry Hamilton's Heart to Heart (English Channel) some 34 starts over the course of six seasons to secure an elusive Grade I success, but the tough-as-teak Ontario-bred with the distinctive blaze that befits his name made it back-to-back scores at the highest level with a typically tenacious front-running victory in Friday's Maker's 46 Mile.
In a race delayed by 35 minutes by an earlier tote malfunction, Heart to Heart looked a bit toey in the stalls and hopped ever so slightly at the break, but it didn't cost him, as he was soon in front, dictating a sensible pace from California raider Om (Munnings) as Ballagh Rocks (Stormy Atlantic) was tucked away neatly in third. Still traveling well within himself as they left the quarter pole behind, Heart to Heart was popped the question by his long-time partner Julien Leparoux and they kicked hard, clocking a slick :22.94 for the final two furlongs to win cozily in the finish. Ballagh Rocks fought back gamely at the fence for second, while Forge (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) took a multiple-horse photo for third.
“He just never stops giving. Julien [Leparoux] is just a great fit with him,” said winning trainer Brian Lynch. “I think that was probably one of his best performances here today. You always worry about the Keeneland stretch; it's so long. We're always looking for the wire before it gets there. But today, when he broke clear, I thought someone's going to have to burst out of the pack to get him. He was on his game. We loved the way he trained coming into it, and we really felt like he was the best we've had him. He certainly showed it today.”
Heart to Heart was runner-up in the last two runnings of the Maker's 46, behind Miss Temple City (Temple City) in 2016 before being caught by American Patriot (War Front) to lose by a neck 12 months ago. He had prepped with victories in the GIII Canadian Turf S. on each of those occasions, but he had taken a slightly different path in a rare 7-year-old campaign for an entire. Tenth after setting a strong pace in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile at Del Mar last December, he crucially missed the kick when favored at 70 cents on the dollar for his seasonal return in the GII Fort Lauderdale S. Jan. 13 and faded into a distant seventh. But his backers didn't bail in the Feb. 10 GI Gulfstream Park Turf S., and Heart to Heart obliged with a coast-to-coast over a nine-furlong distance that clearly stretches his stamina.
Pedigree Notes:
Heart to Heart is one of six Grade I winners for his sire and one of his three champions (all Sovereign Award winners). His multiple stakes-placed second dam bred SW Do the Roar (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}) when she was 23, while the further female family includes the Dick Mulhall-trained Chart the Stars (Star de Naskra), who defeated Alysheba into second in the 1987 GI San Felipe H. Heart to Heart's third dam also includes his Australian-bred, Hong Kong-raced namesake by Snaadee, foaled in 1993. Ask the Question is the dam of a 2-year-old Animal Kingdom filly and a yearling colt by Liam's Map. The mare was most recently covered by Quality Road.
Heart to Heart was produced using an English Channel season purchased by Darrell Bauder's Red Hawk Ranch at the Thoroughbred Charities of America Stallion Season Auction in 2010. A portion of Friday's earnings has been pledged to TCA by owners Terry and Toby Hamilton.
Friday, Keeneland
MAKER'S 46 MILE S.-GI, $300,000, KEE, 4-13, 4yo/up, 1mT, 1:34.71, fm.
1–HEART TO HEART, 123, h, 7, by English Channel
1st Dam: Ask the Question, by Silver Deputy
2nd Dam: Fair Advice, by Cozzene
3rd Dam: Fair Astrologer, by Quack
(C$25,000 Ylg '12 CANSEP). O-Terry Hamilton; B-Red Hawk
Ranch (ON); T-Brian A. Lynch; J-Julien R. Leparoux. $180,000.
Lifetime Record: Ch. 3yo Colt-Can, 35-15-5-3, $1,917,290.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick
Rating: A.[bullet ad=”rodenalistair-boughtby”][bullet ad=”ontario-bred-sold”]2–Ballagh Rocks, 118, h, 5, Stormy Atlantic–Bells Are Ringing,
by Sadler's Wells. ($70,000 Ylg '14 KEESEP). O-Donegal Racing
& Head of Plains Partners LLC; B-Turner Breeders, LLC (KY);
T-William I. Mott. $60,000.[bullet ad=”vanmeter-hell-yeah”][bullet ad=”performance-genetics-selection”]3–Forge (GB), 118, h, 5, Dubawi (Ire)–Heat Haze (GB), by Green
Desert. O/B-Juddmonte Farms, Inc. (GB); T-William I. Mott.
$30,000.
Margins: 1 3/4, HF, NO. Odds: 3.20, 3.90, 9.00.
Also Ran: Om, Frostmourne, Mr. Misunderstood, Next Shares, Tower of Texas, Hogy. Scratched: Nileator.
Click for the Equineline.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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