I said this son of Chai Latte had a lot to prove and that’s exactly what he did. Credit Joshua Stables for placing him at this level and on turf for the first time.
The field was tightly packed out of the gate, but by the time they hit the quarter mile mark, General El Nebraska had ½ length on Seven Years, with Midway third. Hes Juiced Up sat four lengths off the lead.
Nearing the turn, the real battle was for 3rd with Midway, Irish Flu and the favorite Fluctuation strung across the field behind the leaders. They stayed that way into the turn and Hes Juiced Up was looking for an opening behind them. The jockey finally took him four wide, and as they came out of the turn and into the stretch, he exploded.
General El Nebraska was finished, having yielded the lead to Seven Years, but Fluctuation was between them, breathing down his neck. By this time, He’s Juiced Up was 4th, six wide.
In the middle of the stretch, Fluctuation made it past Seven Years to take the lead and Hes Juiced Up was flying on the outside. From there, it looked like a two-horse race, but Hes Juiced Up made it look easy as he swept to the lead in the shadow of the wire to win by ½ length.
It was the first victory for the three-year-old colt since he won the Swale Stakes (G2) back in January, bringing his career record to 8-5-0-0.
Complete Order of Finish:
Hes Juiced Up – Moved strongly on the turn, then accelerated down the lane to win by ½ length.
Fluctuation – Stalked the pace and took the lead briefly in the stretch but couldn’t hold it and had to settle for 2nd.
Tin Lizzie – Trailed the field throughout, found a seam in the stretch and made a big move to edge out Seven Years for 3rd
Seven Years – Contested the lead from the start, led briefly but weakened in the stretch.
Irish Flu and Midway – Close to the pace throughout but never really fired; finished 5th and 6th respectively
A Little Influence (7th) and Dreaming of Pearls (8th) – Never a factor
General El Nebraska – Led most of the way, then tired badly in the stretch
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES
