Commonwealth Turf (Grade 3)- $300.000 Purse
CD- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Turf
November 23, 2024

Well, I guess I was due. After hearing others talk about the dead heats in the races they have been covering, I was thinking that it actually had been a little while since I had one. With the game reading my mind, we get a dead heat this afternoon in the Commonwealth Turf. It’s a shame that the dead heats are so common, because this actually was a great finish if it was a standalone result. Post time favorite Winned, and 14/1 longshot Were Wolf share the trophy with Grand Zion narrowly missing making it a three-way dead heat. This is the second time this race has had a dead heat for the win, with the previous occasion being in 2012. Winned is trained by Team 7 Illusions and Were Wolf is trained by Riggins Racing. Their respective jockeys were G Corrales and J R Velazquez, and for all parties involved it is their first win in the race. Congratulations to them! The time of the race was 1:39.14, which is a new record for the stake. Let’s take a look at it now:

(1/4 Mile- :23.36)- There is about two lengths separating our co-winners at the start of the race. One of them, Winned, takes the lead for Team 7 Illusions, while the other, Were Wolf will run fourth for Riggins Racing. Running between them are the second place Knorth Knight, who runs on the rail for Our Athletes while having the La Canada Racehorses- trained Grand Zion running to his outside. In the fifth position, we have River Run (Nakamura Stables), who is beside Were Wolf, while Call Me Jack (D J C Racing Stables) is at the back.

(½ Mile- :46.76)- Moving into the backstretch, Winned is all alone up front with a comfortable length and a half lead. Grand Zion is now second, moving half a length ahead of Knorth Knight. A little further back, we have Were Wolf and River Run continuing to run alongside one another, while Call Me Jack continues to trail. Overall, not a lot of action or entertaining passes to talk about yet as the field rides out the early part of the race.

(Top of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- Winned looks really good down the backstretch and into the turn, not looking the slightest bit bothered as he handles the field the way one would expect from a 2/5 favorite. Grand Zion continues to stalk him, and is in a good position entering the stretch, However, the second choice of the bettors, Knorth Knight is calling it a night way too early, and is backed out. Were Wolf slides on by within the turn, but it would not be until we approach the top of the stretch that you see him closing his gap to the leader. River Run, who had been running with him, is not able to keep up and we still had not seen anything out of Call Me Jack.

(Finish- 1:39.14)- With a furlong to go, Winned seemed to be doing enough to hang on, but he had not seen the strongest challenges from his competition quite yet. Grand Zion was pulling up alongsize, and Were Wolf was hitting his best stride while in the third lane. At this point, you could forget everyone else. Winned was resilient, as it looked like Grand Zion was going to have enough time to complete the pass, but he would never be able to do so. Were Wolf dug down deep trying to get up for the win just in time. At the wire, the three of these would be very close, and the photo could not determine an outright winner. Winned and Were Wolf would have to share the top prize, though Grand Zion was slightly beaten by them to get third. The best of the rest fourth place check goes to River Run, who beats Call Me Jack and the disappointing Knorth Knight.

About The Winners-
Winned, trained by Team 7 Illusions, and ridden to victory by G Corrales, is a three-year-old gelding by Decima and is out of Winning Streak. He was bred in Kentucky by Team 7 Illusions as a third quarter two-year-old, and they have been together throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his eighth in 12 starts, his fifth stake win and second graded win. His career earnings are now $1,981.460.

Were Wolf, trained by Riggins Racing, and ridden to victory by J R Velazquez, is a three-year-old gelding by Neon Wolf and is out of Were All Gonna Die. He was bred in California by Night Mare Racing as a first quarter two-year-old, and was acquired by Riggins Racing in private sales in June 2023 when he was still unraced for $89.000. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his seventh in 18 starts, his fourth stake win and first graded win. His career earnings are now $661.760.

Track: Firm
Time: :23¹  :46³  1:10  1:39

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 3 – 6 Paid 8.20, 6 – 3 Paid 15.10
$1 Trifecta: 3 – 6 – 4 Paid 345.50, 6 – 3 – 4 Paid 345.50

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES