Susie Raisher Photo

Carson’s Run uses impressive turn-of-foot to capture G1 Saratoga Derby Invitational

by NYRA Press Ofiice

West Point Thoroughbreds and Steven Bouchey’s Carson’s Run capitalized on a patient trip, following a target and overtaking even-money favorite Legend of Time with a stretch-drive charge from the outside to win Sunday’s Grade 1, $600,000 Saratoga Derby Invitational by three-quarters of a length over Saratoga Race Course’s Mellon turf course.

Caron’s Run, already a Grade 1 winner as a juvenile in September’s Summer at Woodbine Racetrack, built on a last-out victory in the Tale of the Cat in June at Monmouth Park. By besting the six-horse field, Carson’s Run secured an automatic berth into the Group 1, AUD$5 million Ladbrokes Cox Plate on October 26. The Saratoga Derby marked the second consecutive year the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and Moonee Valley Racing Club partnered to offer the winner a chance to compete in Australia in one of the world’s most prestigious turf races.

Carson’s Run has become a fan favorite at Saratoga. He was named in honor of Carson Jost, who was born with the rare genetic disorder Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. Carson is the son of Wade Jost, a former classmate of West Point Thoroughbreds’ founder Terry Finley at the United States Military Academy.

An emotional Finley said to see a rainbow emerging over the Saratoga infield ahead of the race proved to be a harbinger of good fortune, “To walk out in front of the big screen and to see that rainbow...it was good.”

A popular victory saw hometown jockey Dylan Davis register his third career Grade 1 score – and first in the U.S. - with two of them coming aboard Carson’s Run. His latest score came by sitting off the pace as Izzy d’Oro led the field through comfortable fractions of 23.83 seconds for the quarter-mile, the half-mile in 48.30 and three quarters in 1:12.98 over turf listed as good.

Out of the final turn, Royal Majesty looked to gain command from the inside but was soon challenged by Legend of Time. Under Davis, Carson’s Run made his move, surging from the far outside and picking off three challengers one-by-one, including runner-up Legend of Time, in the final sixteenth to complete the 1 3/16-mile course in 1:55.81.

The victory marked the first Saratoga Derby win for trainer Christophe Clement, who also trained the late-rallying third-place finisher in Deterministic.

The British-bred Legend of Time, who was attempting to give conditioner Charlie Appleby’s Greentree-based USA operation its fourth American and third NYRA Grade 1 win of the year, instead settled for a hard-running second, besting Deterministic by three-quarters of a length.

Royal Majesty, Izzy d’Oro and Fulmineo completed the order of finish. First World War and Trikari, who captured the Grade 2 Secretariat earlier today at Colonial Downs, were scratched.

Finley said the victory by the Cupid chestnut, a $170,000 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training purchase, demonstrated the ability of the West Point Thoroughbreds team to find talent.

"Who would ever have thought a horse by Cupid would win a Grade 1 going a mile and three-sixteenths,” Finley said. “I guess that's the beautiful thing about the partners and in particular David Ingordo our bloodstock agent. We go to the sales and we have the freedom to take shots and to buy horses that other people don't buy. That's a beautiful thing. Often times they don't work out, but when they work out like this there's a sweetness to this business that you can't match in anything else in life that you do."

Carson’s Run, off at 5-1, returned $12.40 on a $2 win wager. He banked $330,000 in victory to improve his career bankroll to $719,529.

“Great race, very good ride from Dylan,” Clement said. “He knows the horse very well, he has been working him many, many times the last two months. He is a little bit peculiar. He had a very funny start at Aqueduct in the spring, so we have been working on it. Very good ride – he was trailing the field, but they were going plenty fast enough. Obviously, he loved the ground, and he finished well. When he is right, he has a spectacular turn-of-foot like he showed today.”

The Saratoga Derby was originally scheduled for August 3 but was moved due to heavy rain. The race was then rescheduled for Saturday’s card, but was postponed yet again due to Friday’s inclement weather. For Davis, the wait was worth it.

“I can’t put it into words. I’ve known him since the beginning, so I knew he handled the course well,” Davis said. “He gets a little nerve built up this year, but just working with him, talking him out of it, I was able to take him, ease him back and then tuck him in, then he switched off for me very nicely. I loved going into that second turn, he was getting into the bridle nicely, in a good rhythm, just trying to work out a trip nice and easy for him, working my way to the outside. Once I got to the outside, I was rooting for him, I was like ‘Come on Carson, let’s get going,’ and he responded very nicely.”

Davis earned his first Grade 1 win in Saratoga and said he would be excited if the opportunity presented itself to ride in the Cox Plate.

“It meant a lot. First Grade 1 in New York, in the states, and hometown at Saratoga. It’s incredible,” Davis said. “I mean just doing my best out there, and it’s an incredible moment, and I’m going to cherish it. I’ll go anywhere [Carson’s Run] goes. He’s an incredible horse and I know him very well, and he’s capable of anything.”

Legend of Time, who ran third to the victorious Trikari in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational in July at Aqueduct Racetrack, has finished on the board in seven of his nine career starts.

“I was pleased with my trip. I thought I was a winner turning for home, but that horse ran us down. No excuses. He was handling it [the turf] good,” said Legend of Time rider Flavien Prat.

The last four winners of the Saratoga Derby have gone on to win a grand total of 10 subsequent Group 1/Grade 1 races. The most prolific among those was State Of Rest, who won the Cox Plate, Prix Ganay and Royal Ascot’s Prince of Wales’s Stakes.

Live racing resumes Wednesday at Saratoga with a nine-race card highlighted by the Grade 1, $150,000 Jonatan Sheppard Handicap – a 2 3/8-mile steeplechase contest, in the opening race and the $125,000 Suzie O’Cain for New York-bred sophomore fillies going 1 1/16 miles in the inner turf in Race 5. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.

Saratoga Live will present live coverage and analysis of the Saratoga Race Course summer meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule/.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.