The Woodward (Grade 1)- $500.000 Purse
AQU- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
October 1, 2022

It is always a good thing to go into a big race hot, and that’s exactly what Charleys Latte will be doing in the BC Classic next month after scoring a win in the slop at AQU in The Woodward. For this five year old horse, it is his third straight win, and it follows victories in the Whitney and the JC Gold Cup. It will be his third time in the BC Classic, and his two prior races could not have been any more different. He would win in 2020, but finished dead last in 2021. After the BC last year, there may have been some question as to whether or not he was going to get back to this level, and in April, he would find himself sold by John Henry for $550.000 to Fractious. He would not be an immediate success story in his new silks, but right now he is red hot. Some credit also needs to go to his rider, L Saez, who has been aboard for the last four races. Both Fractious and L Saez are first time winners of the race, and that would also be true even if you wanted to consider the 2006 to 2020 history of the race as the Woodward Handicap. Congratulations to each of them! The winning time in the slop was 1:53.68, Let’s take a look!

(½ Mile- :48.20)- From his outside post, Home Spirit jumps out to the early lead for Night Rider Stables, and he will hold a lead of a length as they move around the opening turn and into the backstretch. Tempestuous is running right behind him for Mb Stables while running along the rail and running within a half length of him is our eventual winner from Fractious, Charleys Latte. He is a comfortable spot directly behind Home Spirit while Arindel’s Oleg runs in the third lane. Behind these top four, we have a decent gap of about three lengths before we get to next horse, and that’s He Needsa Manzillian (Mo Mentum Farm) and Changing Times (D J C Racing Stables), who are running side by side. It’s a length to Eclipse My Knowledge (Nakamura Stables), another to Crack Dab (Gdp Inc), with Strange Magic (TwinTowersRacing) at the back.

(3/4 Mile- 1:13.33)- Home Spirit continues to hold the lead as the backstretch portion concludes and early in the turn. There is still room for Tempestuous to come through on the rail, but for now that one is not taking the opportunity to do so. Charleys Latte doesn’t have much room to do anything right now, as he is firmly in between Tempestuous and Oleg, and directly behind Home Spirit. Behind them, the gap begins to close as He Needsa Manzillian clears Changing Times and looks to make a run at the front group. Eclipse My Knowledge cut into his deficit as well, and is positioned well for a strong run in the turn. Crack Dab was keeping up, but not showing signs of making a push quite yet.

(Top of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- Over the second half of the turn, and potentially feeling the heat from Charleys Latte right behind him, Home Spirit moves down a lane for the stretch. This was just what L Saez wanted to see, as now he had a clear lane to move Charleys Latte through without breaking his stride. He would emphatically capitalize, and at the top of the stretch, he would have the top spot, by a head on Home Spirit. Tempestuous still held the rail and was third, and Oleg was still in contention, too. He Needsa Manzillian ran really well in the turn and was now in great position to make a stretch run and perhaps right now, he was the second best horse on the track. The veteran Eclipse My Knowledge was also making good headway. Crack Dab was lurking as a threat, too, so even if Charleys Latte was looking to put his stamp on the win now, many other spots were up for grabs.

(Finish- 1:53.68)- Charleys Latte easily pulls away from Home Spirit, but equally impressive is how he fends off He Needsa Manzillian, as that one had seemed to be making progress on him. With a furlong to go, it was clear that everyone else was racing for second, and that was shaping up to be a good battle. At least it seemed like that, but Eclipse My Knowledge had other ideas, and wanted to make his 50th start a memorable one. It was a valiant push, but he would not quite have enough time as Charleys Latte gets his third straight Grade 1 win. Eclipse Me Knowledge is second, half a length ahead over a photo for show. That sees He Needsa Manzillian beating Crack Dab, and the rest of the order will read Home Spirit, Tempestuous, Strange Magic, Oleg, and Changing Times.

About The Winner- Charleys Latte, trained by Fractious and ridden to victory by L Saez, is a five year old horse by Pinnacle West, and is out of Sweet Mama. He was bred by Two Hearts One Love as a third quarter two year old in California, and was acquired by Fractious, via John Henry, in April 2022 for $550.000 in private sales. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his ninth in 29 starts, and his eighth stake win, all of which are graded. His career earnings are now $6,759.000.

Track: Sloppy
Time: :48¹  1:13¹  1:39⁴  1:53³

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 5 – 7 Paid 33.70
$1 Trifecta: 5 – 7 – 2 Paid 1,632.10

Scratched: Penalty Shot

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES