Derby Dreams Begin for West Saratoga with Iroquois Stakes Win
West Saratoga scored an upset in the one-mile Grade 1 $300,000 Iroquois Stakes on Sept. 16 at Churchill Downs. The Iroquois was the first official race on the 2024 Road to the Kentucky Derby and was a qualifying points race toward next year's Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve.
Winless over his first four starts, Harry Veruchi's West Saratoga is now 2-for-2 since stretching out to one mile. In addition to Saturday's race, he was a fast front running winner of an Aug. 5 maiden race last time out at Ellis Park.
Though that win came on the lead, West Saratoga showed an off-the-pace style Saturday, which proved beneficial after Patriot Spirit ran off and established an exhausting pace, going the half-mile in :44.63 and six furlongs in 1:10.14.
The blazing splits took a toll on the leader and those chasing him, but West Saratoga, who rated in fourth early under jockey Rafael Bejarano, had something left for the stretch and rallied past the leaders. The Larry Demeritte trainee completed a mile in 1:37.28, scoring by 1 3/4 lengths. He paid $26.96 for a $2 win wager.
West Saratoga earned 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points. Runner up Risk It, and third-, fourth-, and fifth-place finishers Liberal Arts, Seize the Grey and Edified each grabbed points on a 5-3-2-1 scale.
"It's very special to get started on the Road to the Kentucky Derby," Veruchi said.
