Highly Motivated (Into Mischief) led home a 1-3 finish and became the 81st black-type winner for his sire, establishing a new track record in the opening race of Breeders' Cup weekend.
Quick Tempo (Tapizar) won the break and set a slick early pace, as Javier Castellano had the favorite settled from a midfield fifth while glued to the inside. Pinching ground on the turn, Highly Motivated popped off the fence and went on the attack three wide off the home corner, grabbed the front-runner at the sixteenth pole and pulled readily clear while shaving 0.06 off the track record previously held by Limousine Liberal (Successful Appeal). Roderick (Into Mischief) raced prominently throughout and kept on gamely for third.
Having nearly overcome an eventful trip to miss by a neck to his stablemate Founder (Upstart) over a muddy Saratoga main track Aug. 29, the Klaravich homebred was exiting a popular 1 3/4-length graduation at Belmont Sept. 27.
Highly Motivated has a weanling half-brother by Flintshire (GB) and his stakes-winning dam was most recently bred to Into Mischief's son Practical Joke.
NYQUIST S., $125,000, Keeneland, 11-6, 2yo, 6 1/2f, 1:14.99 (NTR), ft.
1–HIGHLY MOTIVATED, 118, c, 2, by Into Mischief
1st Dam: Strong Incentive, by Warrior's Reward
2nd Dam: G G's Dolly, by Comic Strip
3rd Dam: Parfait, by Kingmambo
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. ($240,000 Wlg '18 KEENOV). O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.; B-Klaravich Stables (KY); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Javier Castellano. $75,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, $124,050.
2–Quick Tempo, 118, c, 2, Tapizar–Sing Dixie Sing, by Dixie Union. ($20,000 Ylg '19 FTKOCT; $75,000 2yo '20 OBSAPR). O-Dare To Dream Stable LLC (Michael Faber); B-Albert Bell & Joyce Bell (KY); T-Christopher Davis. $25,000.
3–Roderick, 118, c, 2, Into Mischief–Cayala, by Cherokee Run. ($550,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Breeze Easy, LLC; B-Kingswood Farm & David Egan (KY); T-Wesley A. Ward. $12,500.
Margins: 4 1/4, 3/4, 6 3/4. Odds: 2.60, 4.90, 10.00.
Also Ran: Awesome Gerry, Sir Wellington, Saffa's Day, Upstriker, Assertive Style. Scratched: Twilight Blue.
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