Extra Anejo shows he could be the 2nd-half horse
On a day when Arcangelo became the third different winner in this year’s Triple Crown series, the title of best 3-year-old male remains very much in doubt. Do not be too surprised if the eventual champion is a horse who was completely absent from the festivities of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
Practical Move, the winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby, and Geaux Rocket Ride, recent winner of the Affirmed Stakes, would be two possibilities to bring that prediction to realization. But what if I told you that the real horse to watch in the second half of the season might be the winner of an allowance race at Ellis Park just hours before the Belmont Stakes?
His name is Extra Anejo, and this horse is a serious talent.
You’ve probably already heard of the son of Into Mischief. And you might just as well have forgotten about him already.
The handsome bay colt first made a splash nearly two years ago when he sold for $1.35 million at the Keeneland September yearling sale of 2021.
Extra Anejo is the first foal out of the intriguingly bred Superioritycomplex, an Irish-bred daughter of Hard Spun who finished first or second in six of 10 career starts. He was acquired by Ron Winchell of Winchell Thoroughbreds and made his way to the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen.
More than a year after impressing in the sales ring, Extra Anejo once again would cause ripples in the racing sea. The occasion was his career debut, and when he first made it to the races, it fittingly came at Keeneland.
In perhaps the most impressive debut performance from any juvenile of 2022, the 7-5 favorite ransacked his competition to the tune of a 9 1/2-length runaway.
The speed figures of his debut performance came back large, and he immediately became a big buzz horse on the early Kentucky Derby trail.
That noise quickly transitioned into a hush, though, as Extra Anejo suffered a minor injury to a hind ankle that kept him on the shelf through the winter.
When he finally made it back to the races, nearly seven months after his monster debut, his hype train was soon derailed.
On the same racing card in which Mage won the roses, Extra Anejo broke slowly from the gate, raced between horses, and never could make up enough ground on a fast sprinter named Federal Judge.
The second-place finish in the 6 1/2-furlong allowance effectively ended the superstar aura of Extra Anejo, and fickle fans jumped off the bandwagon in an instant.
Get ready for the reboarding. With few watching Ellis Park Saturday because of all the doings at Belmont Park, Extra Anejo put on a show.
Facing a small field, but one that included nice horses, he turned the $127,000 allowance race into another coming-out party.
A more mature version of the horse who impressed eight months ago, he once again demonstrated why so many were high on him in the first place.
Effortlessly tracking fast early fractions under Brian Hernandez Jr., he quickly eased up to the leader on the turn and powered right by to win by 6 1/2 lengths while geared down late.
Tall Boy, the winner of the UAE Two Thousand Guineas (G3) was second, a pole ahead of third-place finisher, Classic Legacy, who also was third in the Tampa Bay Derby G3). The final time of 1:34.88 for the flat mile also emphasizes how good the winner ran.
The name Extra Anejo should be trending again after Saturday’s powerhouse performance. He’s a colt who has yet to run in a stakes race, but if I’m right, he might end up being one of the very best of this 3-year-old crop.
