The Fayette (Grade 2)- $350.000 Purse
KEE- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
October 29, 2022

There is no denying that Figured The Storm has figured out how to be a great race horse this year, coming into The Fayette with five wins in ten starts as a four year old. Make that six of eleven, but he will share that win First Sargeant, who had commanded two wins in eight starts in 2022 before this race. These two split the winner’s share of the purse, and had third place Ags Cherokee very close by at the wire, too. Figured The Storm is trained by Arindel and First Sargeant by High Voltage. Each of those trainers are now a first time winner in this race. The same is true on the jockey side, with E Jaramillo (Figured The Storm) and Mario Gutierrez (First Sargeant) getting their first wins as well. Congratulations to them! The time of the victory was 1:47.84. Let’s take a look!

(½ Mile- :47.06)- Three horses break away from the rest of the back and run three wide down the front stretch the first time and into the opening turn. Emerging with the advantage after a half mile, once they were in the backstretch, is the RNP Stables- trained Ags Cherokee. He runs between horses, with TwinTowersRacing’s America First running to his inside. In third, and starting to lose a little bit of ground to the other two is Iolaus Racing’s Funny Side. Initially, there are two stalkers right behind them, and one of our eventual winners, Arindel’s Figured The Storm is one of them as he runs on the rail. Jakarta, out of Nakamura Stables, runs right to his outside. This would become a three wide group as Rampage Stable’s Press Row pushed forward in the first turn to be a part of this group. Behind him, we have our other winner, First Sargeant, for High Voltage and he sits about four lengths off the lead while running to the outside of Crimson Rioja (Mo Mentum Farm). It’s a couple more lengths to Flip A Coin Party (Threshold), and the trailer is Ronaldo Chop (Night Rider Stables).

(3/4 Mile- 1:10.51)- Down the backstretch and into the final turn, Ags Cherokee pulls clearly in front of the field, and leads by a length. America First holds onto to the second position, but now runs right behind the pacesetter while being positioned on the rail. Funny Cide is within a length on him on the outside. After a length, Figured The Storm is still fourth, but now running all by himself as both Jakarta and Press Row are no longer able to keep up with him. As those two dropped back, First Sargeant moves four wide and looks to get around both of them as well as Crimson Rioja before setting his sights on the top four. Flip A Coin Party is the same distance back as he was before, and Ronaldo Chop had yet to get involved.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Around the turn, Ags Cherokee continues to hold the lead, and he has not had to face any new challengers as of yet. America First and Funny Cide are still about a length and a half behind him, and those two are now joined by Figured The Storm who comes on between them. Meanwhile, First Sargeant had done well while rounding the turn in the fourth lane, and seems poised for good stretch run. Right now, he has about a length to make up on Figured The Storm. Elsewhere in the field, not much is going on. We do see Flip A Coin Party make a five wide move in hopes of making a late bid.

(Finish- 1:47.84)- Ags Cherokee does his best to hang on, but as we got closer to the wire, Figured The Storm was pulling up right to his inside to try and get the win. First Sargeant was a couple lanes over, and was also coming on strong, but for a bit it seemed like Figured The Storm was more of a threat. In the dying moments, First Sargeant looked like more and more of a factor but Ags Cherokee wasn’t giving in. At the wire, these three were in a very tight photo and a dead heat is declared between Figured The Storm and First Sargeant, who beat Ags Cherokee by a nose. Flip A Coin Party came on very well in the stretch, and gets the fourth place check for that effort. Ronaldo Chop started moving way too late, but is fifth, ahead of Crimson Rioja, American First, Funny Cide, Press Row, and Jakarta.

About the Winners:
Figured The Storm, trained by Arindel and ridden to victory by E Jaramillo, is a four year old gelding by Commanding The Storm and is out of the late I Figured. He was bred in New Jersey as a yearling by Arindel, and they have been together throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his tenth in 33 starts, his third stake win and second graded win. His career earnings are now $550.480.

First Sargeant, trained by High Voltage and ridden to victory by Mario Gutierrez, is a five year old gelding by Donegal Commander and is out of the late Balance Out. He was bred in California as a second two year old by Barcelona Farms and was acquired by High Voltage in private sales for $15.000 in June 2019. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his sixth in 24 starts, and his second stake win, each of which are graded. His career earnings are now $1,066.06.

Track: Fast
Time: :47   1:10²  1:35   1:47⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 4 – 10 Paid 11.50, 10 – 4 Paid 31.90
$1 Trifecta: 4 – 10 – 2 Paid 721.30, 10 – 4 – 2 Paid 721.30

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES