'TDN Rising Star' Prevalence made the grade Saturday with a good-looking score in the Commonwealth at Keeneland. Away well from post 10, the bettors' second choice raced in a joint second as favored fellow 'TDN Rising Star' Nashville zipped through an opening quarter in :22.12. The bay turned up the heat on the chalk a bit through a :44.61 half-mile and they turned for home on even terms. Nashville threw in the towel at the top of the stretch, fading fast to the back of the field, but Prevalence had a head full of steam, rolling clear to score. Long Range Toddy completed the exacta with O Besos in third.
“I wasn't sure we'd get that close to [Nashville],” trainer Brendan Walsh said. “[The plan was] let [Prevalence] work his way into the race. They were going quick, but he looked comfortable the whole time. Tyler [Gaffalione] said he was just cruising along for him.”
“He's just a very smart horse,” Gaffalione said. “He does everything so easily. The first thing Brendan said was, 'Man, they went quick, but it looked like he was doing it well within himself,' and he really was.He has a high cruising speed, and he's a very intelligent horse. I had plenty left.”
Opening his account with a pair of flashy wins at Gulfstream last winter, Prevalence was off the board when stepped up in class for both the GII Wood Memorial S. and GII Pat Day Mile, after which he was shelved for the season. Returning Feb. 5 in a Gulfstream optional claimer, he finished fifth after a bad start and rebounded with a decisive score next out at that oval Mar. 5.
Pedigree Notes:
Prevalence is the 87th graded winner and the 163rd black-type scorer for Darley's Medaglia d'Oro. He is also the 17th graded victor and 28th black-type achiever out of a daughter of Ghostzapper. The Godolphin homebred is a half-sibling to Group 3 winner Estihdaaf and stakes winner Libreta (Girolamo). His 3-year-old half-brother Emirates Road (Quality Road) rallied to victory for Walsh and Godolphin in a seven-panel maiden special weight at Keeneland earlier on Saturday's card (video). Their dam Enrichment is a daughter of blue hen and Grade II winner Sahara Gold, making her a full-sister to MGISW Better Lucky and SW Final Frontier and a half to GSW Sahara Heat (A.P. Indy). Sahara Gold is a daughter of GI Breeders' Cup Sprint victress Desert Stormer (Storm Cat). Enrichment's recent produce includes a juvenile colt by Frosted and a yearling colt by Uncle Mo. She was bred back to Medaglia d'Oro.
Saturday, Keeneland
COMMONWEALTH S.-GIII, $300,000, Keeneland, 4-9, 4yo/up, 7f, 1:22.47, sy.
1–PREVALENCE, 118, c, 4, by Medaglia d'Oro
1st Dam: Enrichment, by Ghostzapper
2nd Dam: Sahara Gold, by Seeking the Gold
3rd Dam: Desert Stormer, by Storm Cat
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN.
O/B-Godolphin, LLC; T-Brendan P. Walsh; J-Tyler Gaffalione.
$174,375. Lifetime Record: 7-4-0-0, $288,225. *1/2 to Libreta
(Girolamo), SW, $128,660; and Estihdaaf (Arch), GSW-UAE,
$183,491. Werk Nick Rating: F. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 'TDN Rising Star'
2–Long Range Toddy, 118, h, 6, Take Charge Indy–Pleasant
Song, by Unbridled's Song. O-Zenith Racing; B-Willis Horton
Racing LLC (KY); T-Dallas Stewart. $56,250.
3–O Besos, 118, c, 4, Orb–Snuggs and Kisses, by Soto.
O-Bernard Racing LLC, Tagg Team Racing, West Point
Thoroughbreds and Stephens, Terry L.; B-L. Barrett Bernard
(KY); T-Gregory D. Foley. $28,125.
Margins: 2 1/4, HD, 1. Odds: 2.50, 45.20, 4.30.
Also Ran: Surveillance, South Bend, Three Technique, Manny Wah, Endorsed, Atoka, Nashville. Scratched: Sir Alfred James. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
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