Altamira Racing Stable and Wire to Wire Racing Inc.’s All Squared Away, the longest shot in the field of 11, held off favored Summer Front by 1 ½ lengths to win the 31st
running of the $200,000 Coolmore Lexington (G3) for 3-year-olds going 1
1/16 miles before a crowd of 23,823 on Saturday at Keeneland.
Trained
by Wesley Ward and ridden Julio Garcia, All Squared Away paid $143.20
to win, breaking the stakes-record payoff of $83 established by Slew’s Tizzy in 2007.
Johannesbourbon, making only his second career start, and Castaway dueled through fractions of :23.21 and :46.54 while under pressure from Hammers Terror. Garcia had All Squared Away in fourth and in the clear in the run down the backstretch.
Leaving
the far turn, Castaway began to drop back as Johannesbourbon and
Hammers Terror dueled for the lead into the stretch with Garcia moving
All Squared Away three wide and with dead aim at the leaders.
Hammers
Terror put away Johannesbourbon, but could not hold off All Squared
Away, who took the lead at the sixteenth pole and held on to complete
the distance in 1:42.55.
All
Squared Away is a Kentucky-bred son of Bellamy Road out of the Posse
mare Squared. The victory was worth $120,000 and improved All Squared
Away’s bankroll to $164,180 with a record of 9-2-2-2. He was sold for
$3,000 at Keeneland’s 2009 November Breeding Stock Sale.
All
Squared Away returned $143.20, $45.80 and $17. Summer Front, who
rallied from far back under Ramon Dominguez, returned $5.20 and $4 and
finished a neck in front of Hammers Terror, who finished third under
Robby Albarado and paid $9.40 to show.
It was three-quarters of a length back to Gold Megillah, who finished fourth and was followed in order by Golden Ticket, Holiday Promise, Johannesbourbon, Skyring, Castaway, News Pending and Morgan’s Guerrilla.
In the race preceding the Coolmore Lexington, Prime Equestrian’s Flash Mash collared Well Deserved in deep stretch to win the 16th running of the Giant’s Causeway for fillies and mares by a half-length.
Ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., Flash Mash rated in third place early on as favored Inspired
set fractions of :21.37 and :44.45 over a firm turf course and held the
lead until the eighth pole when Well Deserved took over and held the
lead until just before the wire.
In giving trainer Michael Stidham his first Keeneland stakes victory since Bold Answer won the 2001 Appalachian, Flash Mash covered the 5½ furlongs in 1:03.19.
The
victory was worth $60,000 and increased Flash Mash’s earnings to
$196,316 with a record of 9-5-2-1. Flash Mash is a 4-year-old
Kentucky-bred daughter of Smarty Jones out of the Miswaki mare Magical
Flash.
Flash Mash returned $17.40, $8 and $4.80. Well Deserved, ridden by Julien Leparoux, paid $12.80 and $6.20 with Classy Zip rallying for third another half-length back under Javier Castellano and paying $3.80 to show.
It was another half-length back to Inspired, who finished fourth and was followed in order by Indulgence, Smartys Emperoress, Fortune Play, Wild About Marie, Extravaganza and Grand Illumination.