$276,815 Worth Equestrian Owned Horse Takes Early Lead On 2024 ‘Road to the Kentucky Derby’ With Grade 3 Victory

The 150th edition of the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks is almost here. The events are scheduled to happen next year but the prep races for the classic races have begun. On Saturday, two stakes races took place of which one was  Grade 3, $300,000 Iroquois Stakes. This Stakes had a difference from the previous races as the distance of the race was reduced by 1/16 mile to stand at one mile.

This year like every race in a year there were favorites for the Stakes. The favorite was Steve Asmussen trained Risk It. The son of Gun Runner was a 6-5  favorite but the race has something else to offer. Harry L. Veruchi owned a two-year-old colt who responded to the jockey’s call and pulled an incredible win leaving everyone at the arena in awe.

West Saratoga’s epic performance at equestrian stakes

The road to the Kentucky Derby began and the venue was the prestigious racing course, the Churchill Downs. Eight horses were amassed for the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes, the stakes race in which the winner and subsequent position holder will be assigned points according to the system set for the Derby. Among them was $276,815 worth of West Saratoga who arrived after winning his last race at Ellis Park. It was his first career win after four races where he finished second in three. According to Paulickreport, the son of Exaggerator was 12-4 odds prior to the race. The two-year-old colt was ridden by famed jockey Rafael Bejarano.

At the start of the race, Patriot Spirit took the lead and crossed the quarter mile in 22.37 seconds and a half mile in 44.63 seconds. Entering into the race from post no 2 West Saratoga raced at the backstretch maintaining fourth position behind Risk It and Market Street. Patriot Spirit slowed down into the sixth furlong but maintained his position. Risk It moved into the second position by that time. In the last eighth-mile West Saratoga took charge and overcame his all competitors at the front. He won the race by one and three-quarter length and completed the race at 1:37.28.

Speaking on the race the jockey said “I just let him get comfortable after seeing a lot of speed in the race on paper“. He observed that there were a lot of horses behind him and thought to pace after the turn. At three-eighths pole, he figured out that the horses at the front would begin to fall back and he had a good stretch run in the end. Along with the jockey, the owner is also happy with the win, his horse had a good start on the road to the derby.

Harry L. Veruchi’s  excitement after the win

Harry L. Veruchi is a cheerful man at the moment. His horse ran a good race and earned a good point on the road to the Kentucky Derby. Speaking on the Iroquois Stakes win Veruchi said, “It’s very special to get started on the Road to the Kentucky Derby“. He explained that they had experience with the track as they had run multiple times in the spring. However, when West Saratoga had his maiden career win at Ellis Park he became confident that he could stretch out in the mile race and bring the required result.

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West Saratoga’s win proved the confidence and faith the owner had put in his after the Ellis Park race and he also had shown his potential in the final stretch performance at the race. Now, with a good start, the owner has to ensure that the performance remains the same on the rest of the road.