Kentucky Derby Road: April 8 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes
G1 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, 1 1/8 Mile
Burnham Square (4-1) sat in last place of seven off fairly quick early fractions, came wide into the stretch and overtook East Avenue (9-2) in the shadow of the wire to win the G1 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. River Thames (3-1) finished third with interest, longshot Admiral Dennis (15-1) was fourth, and Render Judgment was fifth. East Avenue set the pace into the far turn with fractions of 22.95, 46.95 and 1:11.96, stayed strong in the turn, and was denied at the last possible moment. Owen Almighty tracked East Avenue into the stretch and faded to sixth. Favored Chancer McPatrick (5-2) broke well but never got his engine running and finished last behind a slow final time of 1:51.33. Brian Hernandez, Jr. rode the winner for trainer Ian Wilkes and owner-breeder Janice Whitham's Whitham Thoroughbreds. Burnham Square was bred in Kentucky and is a son of Liam's Map out of Linda, by Scat Daddy. Kentucky Derby points: 100-50-25-15-10.
The track was not playing fast today, with a pair of seven-furlong stakes races timed in just under 1:24.
THE NEXT DAY: “Both horses got back last night to Churchill,” trainer Wilkes said from his main base in Louisville. “Everything is all good. It was a really exciting day for everyone involved.”
Burnham Square got a 96 Beyer, and Equbase rated him a 104.
Winning jockey Brian Hernandez, Jr.: "When we turned for home we had a full head of steam and I was confident. It kind of goes back to Ian trusting us; he doesn’t give us a whole lot of instructions. My son, Ben, and I sat down last night and watched all his races, and we both kind of came up with a plan: Just let him travel, let him cruise along. That’s the nice thing about a horse like him. For a 3-year-old to make such a long run like he did today and be able to run down Grade 1 winners like he did – he’s an exciting horse to move forward with.”
Winning trainer Ian Wilkes on Burnham Square’s progress from a maiden claiming runner-up finish at Keeneland in his debut Oct. 26 to now winning the Toyota Blue Grass: “You’d probably have to pinch me, because if you’d asked me before that race, I would not have dreamed I’d be here with him. He’s taken me there. You know, the horse has taken me everywhere I’ve wanted to go. I’ve just got to try and stay out of his way. The only thing I had to do to help him was put blinkers on him.
“(Winning) the Holy Bull was good. The Fountain of Youth (fourth), maybe I was just – I had to go easy. He’s not a big, robust horse, and I was probably a little kind on him coming in to that race, wasn’t as hard on him as what I wanted to be. Then I trained him a little more for here because I needed points, so I couldn’t mess around. We had to step up and get a little more serious now. But his number was better in the Fountain of Youth than it was in the Holy Bull.
“I’ll watch him. He’ll tell me what I need to do. But we have to keep the foot on the gas – got to keep the foot down on the pedal – because we’ve got to get a little better again. It’s going to be very deep waters, and we’ve got to get a lot better.”
Luan Machado (rider of runner-up East Avenue): “We went really quick from the start, but the horse came back to me. It was a little aggressive,
and he dropped a little bit in the second half. He dug deep and he fought back. He tried his best to get him, and I am happy with him.”
Brendan Walsh (trainer of East Avenue): “I loved how he battled. He looked at the head of the straight like he was going to fold and he didn’t fold, and I think it’s a good sign for the future. I think he’s a horse that can still improve. It’s nice to see him run a race like that.
“We’d have to seriously consider (the Derby). We’ll go back and talk among ourselves and see what we do. But I loved what I saw today. We’re a little disappointed we didn’t win, but it’s the next best thing; at least he showed up today. He’s the horse we’ve always thought he was.”
East Avenue likely will relocate to Churchill Downs during the coming week.
Irad Ortiz Jr. (rider of third-place finisher River Thames): “Can’t complain, he put up one hell of a race. He got beat by two nice horses. He gave me everything. I think it was set up perfect for me. I thought I got the chance to run for home, but they followed all the way to the wire. It was a great race.”
Todd Pletcher (trainer of River Thames): “I thought he ran terrific. We got the trip we were hoping to get. We kind of anticipated the pace would unfold the way it did, and we were in the position we wanted to be. The turn for home we had a chance and kept trying all the way to the wire but couldn’t quite get there.
“I think (it was a step forward). It was the first time at a mile and an eighth. It seemed like he stuck it out pretty well, and he’s come a long way in a short period of time. It was a good effort; we just couldn’t quite get there.
“We will let the dust settle. I’ll talk to all the connections, and we will come up with a game plan.”
Flavien Prat (rider of favored Chancer McPatrick, who finished in a dead heat for sixth with Owen Almighty): “I thought I had a good trip, but when he had a chance to make a run, he didn’t.”
Brian Lynch (trainer of Owen Almighty): “He had the perfect trip and had every chance to make it his race, but he came up a little empty when we needed it. I don’t think the Derby is the way we will go. We’ll regroup and talk with our people and come up with another plan.”
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