American Turf (Grade 1)- $1,000.000 Purse
CD- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Turf
May 3, 2025

On a rainy day at CD, our pick to win the American Turf, Ello Santa ended up being the lone scratch of the race, leaving thirteen to go at it on the soft going. Not being scratched was the Our Athletes- trained Western Knight, a gelding that has really come to life at the start of the year. We did not pick this horse, though there was every reason to believe that he was on the verge of a breakout. That would come right here in the American Turf, as he had no issue at all with the off track and went on to win by a length. It’s the first win in this race for Our Athletes as well as jockey F Geroux. Congratulations to them! The winning race time was 1:45.03, which is right in line with a couple of other recent occasions when the turf was also soft. Here’s a look at it:

(1/4 Mile- :23.70)- As the field moves down the frontstretch, it will be the Mb Stables- trained Darrow holding about a half length lead over three others. He’s in the third lane, and running second on the rail is our eventual winner from Our Athletes, Western Knight. Between these two is Asgar’s Smitten, while the post time favorite from Mb Stables, Big Blue runs in the outside lane. Extravagant is fifth for Bigchief Stables as he stalks the pace while on the rail. Within a length of him are Moonligtonthewabash (High Voltage) and Looking For Trouble (TwinTowersRacing). No Brainer (Alydar Stables) runs between those two. It’s another length to Hail Justice (Team 7 Illusions), followed by Bear Head (Martyparty) and Blaze All (Williams9). At the back are Fantasy Blaze (Maxmillion Farm) and Bitcoin Bobby (Robeth).

(½ Mile- :48.10)- While rounding the opening turn, the front four horses put a some more distance between themselves and the rest of the field, with the margin now close to two lengths between first and fifth. Among the lead group, there’s very little separating the top three, and it’s Western Knight scored as the leader at this point, by a nose over Smitten, who’s a similar margin ahead of Darrow. Big Blue’s outside trip still sees him within a half-length of those three. Then, we get to the fifth place Extravagant, who’s a full length in front of Moonligtonthewabash and Looking For Trouble, who run evenly. No Brainer is within a length of them, and it’s a little further back to Hail Justice, who is still followed by Bear Head. No changes with the trailers, as it is still Blaze All, Fantasy Blaze and Bitcoin Bobby.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- Beginning at the end of the backstretch, Western Knight begins to assert himself as the one to beat, pulling away from the other three that he had been running with. During the turn, only Smitten could stay near him of that trio, as both of the Mb horses dropped back. Western Knight looked strong at the top of the stretch, with the closest competitor that he had not already put away, being Extravagant in fifth, two lengths back. Smitten would be second and in a spot where we could at least see him hanging on to that spot. Darrow and Big Blue were in greater trouble and had not only Extravagant about to go by imminently, but Moonligtonthewabash and No Brainer also ready to do so. Hail Justice was running evenly in the middle of the pack while Bitcoin Bobby was coming to life and looking to cash in. Bear Head wasn’t showing much, Fantasy Blaze made minor progress, Looking For Trouble was in trouble, and Blaze All was at the back.

(Finish- 1:45.03)- Western Knight didn’t need to pour it on any further, as those taking a run at him would be too far back to mount a serious challenge. He’ll get the victory, looking comfortable on the soft turf, by a length over Moonligtonthewabash, who emerged as the best of the rest to take second. It’s a dead heat for third between No Brainer and the late running Bitcoin Bobby, with Extravagant nearly making that a three way. Smitten was disappointing in the stretch and fades to sixth, topping Hail Justice, Fantasy Blaze, Blaze All, Big Blue, Darrow, Bear Head, and Looking For Trouble.

About The Winner- Western Knight, trained by Our Athletes and ridden to victory by F Geroux, is a three-year-old gelding by Our Dark Knight and is out of P O A. He was bred in Kentucky by Our Athletes as a second quarter two-year-old, the only trainer for which he has ever known. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his second in eight starts and first stake win. His career earnings are now $787.000.

Track: Soft
Time: :23³  :48  1:12⁴  1:45

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 1 – 10 Paid 109.40
$1 Trifecta: 1 – 10 – 7 Paid 545.40, 1 – 10 – 14 Paid 545.40

Scratched: Ello Santa(L)

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES