Gary and Mary West homebred West Will Power (h, 6, Bernardini–Wild Promises, by Wild Event) punched his ticket to the GI Breeders' Cup Classic with a half-length victory over the streaking Rattle N Roll (Connect) in Saturday's 'Win and You're In' GI Stephen Foster S. at Ellis Park.
The 2-1 favorite sat a perfect, stalking trip beneath Flavien Prat in second through fractions of :23.74 and :46.97. He hit the front right outside of the quarter pole, set sail for home and stayed on to hold the fast-finishing Rattle N Roll safe. Longshot Happy American (Runhappy) was third.
The Stephen Foster, originally slated for Churchill Downs, is the first Grade I race in history to take place at Ellis Park.
“I think he can handle a mile-and-a-quarter in the Breeders' Cup Classic,” winning trainer Brad Cox said. “I was much more confident with him getting a target to track off in this race. We'll see how the figures come back, but I'm very proud of the way this horse has developed. It's a credit to the Wests and this horse to have the patience to improve with age. It's taken him a while to get to this level. It's really cool to go down in the history books by winning the first Grade I in the history of Ellis Park.”
West Will Power, second in last year's GI Clark S., posted a powerful victory with a career-high 109 Beyer Speed Figure in the GII New Orleans Classic S. Mar. 25. He entered off a third-place finish as the favorite in the GII Alysheba S. May 5.
“He was cruising all the way around there,” Prat said. “He just carried me home to the wire down the stretch. I was really impressed by the way he won this winter at Fair Grounds in the New Orleans Classic. It was a different setup last time out in the Alysheba. He came back here to Ellis and the race shape was much more to his style.”
Pedigree Notes:
West Will Power becomes the 17th Grade I winner for Bernardini. Grade III winner Wild Promises, a half-sister to MGSW Icy Atlantic (Stormy Atlantic) hailing from the extended female family of MGISW Jolie's Halo (Halo), had only one foal after West Will Power, an unraced 4-year-old filly named Cross Your Heart (Curlin). Wild Promises, a $200,000 KEENOV purchase by the Wests in 2012, brought $3,700 from Pam Schutz at the 2018 KEENOV sale.
Saturday, Ellis Park
STEPHEN FOSTER S.-GI, $1,000,000, Ellis, 7-1, 4yo/up, 1 1/8m, 1:47.93, ft.
1–WEST WILL POWER, 124, h, 6, by Bernardini
1st Dam: Wild Promises (GSW, $699,610), by Wild Event
2nd Dam: Frosty Promise, by Frosty the Snowman
3rd Dam: Has Promise, by Skip Trial
1ST GRADE I WIN. O-Gary and Mary West; B-Gary & Mary West Stables Inc. (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Flavien Prat. $599,260. Lifetime Record: MGSW, 17-7-7-1, $1,745,390. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Rattle N Roll, 124, c, 4, Connect–Jazz Tune, by Johannesburg. ($55,000 Wlg '19 KEENOV; $210,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Lucky Seven Stable (Mackin); B-St. Simon Place (KY); T-Kenneth G. McPeek. $196,600.
3–Happy American, 124, g, 5, Runhappy–Queen of America, by Quiet American. 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($385,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Lothenbach Stables, Inc. (Bob Lothenbach); B-Claiborne Farm (KY); T-Neil L. Pessin. $97,300.
Margins: HF, 1HF, 1 1/4. Odds: 2.07, 6.90, 48.94.
Also Ran: Last Samurai, Smile Happy, Stilleto Boy, Speed Bias, Proxy. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs.
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