Kilroe Mile (Grade 1)- $400.000 Purse
SA- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on the Turf
March 10, 2018

Controlled Power came in to the Kilroe Mile as one of the several contenders looking to take down 2017 Horse of The Year, Clockwork Chai. The fans seemed to think that Clockwork Chai could be ripe for the picking in this race, as despite 13 wins in 16 starts, he only went off at odds of 4/1. Controlled Power would be the second choice, at odds of 9/2, as perhaps many here watched his impressive win in the CA Turf Cup coming into the race. Works were very strong leading up to the race, and he backed up those works on the track, earning the biggest win of his career. The winning trainer is Spankys Barn, and it was his first win in the stake. It was the second such win for jockey C S Nakatani. Congratulations to them! The time of the race was 1:32.81, a middle of the road time when looking at prior races. Here’s a look at it.

(1/4 Mile- :23.15)- Our eventual winner, Controlled Power wastes no time trying to get to the front for trainer Spankys Barn. He would clear all but one of them by a length as they made their way into the turn. Also beginning well was Banshee Star, for Joseph Racing, and the longshot would actually be the one with the lead into the opening turn. Running third was Cherrytree Hill Farms’ Compress, as he began to pull up alongside Controlled Power. After a length, Clockwork Chai seemed to be in a good spot for himself, in between horses running fourth for Mb Stables. He’d be between Gallivant (Nakamura Stables) and The Force Awakens (Diablo Diablo). Eastern Townships (Sanny Village) was close by. Another length back we saw Forty Two (Team 7 Illusions) and Serious Cobra (Smokey Stover), while Grand Sierra (Fractious) trailed the field.

(½ Mile- :46.22)- Around the turn and into the backstretch, Banshee Star continued to lead the field, but about midway through the backstretch, Controlled Power began to pull to his inside. He was now within a length, with a clean rail trip potentially available. Compress still looked fine, maintaining a solid stalking trip, and The Force Awakens advanced his position a bit to join him. Clockwork Chai lost a little ground in the backstretch, and was now about three lengths back, and still running even with Gallivant. Eastern Townships, Forty Two, and Serious Cobra would run three wide towards the back, and Grand Sierra was two lengths behind them.

(Top Of Stretch- 1.5F To Go)- Banshee Star held tough for a little while, but at the top of the final turn, Controlled Power completed the pass along the inside, utilizing the rail to perfection. Once in the lead, he had to like seeing that Clockwork Chai still had two lengths to make up, and would have to do so with a four wide trip. Banshee Star began to tire a bit going into the stretch. The Force Awakens appeared to be looking for room to make a run while within the turn, but he did not have legs underneath to do so. Clockwork Chai was starting to look sharp, but it was a fair amount of ground that he needed to make up to a rival that was also still in full stride. On the inside, Gallivant rode along behind Controlled Power in the turn and plenty of room for a strong stretch run. Compress began to lose a couple positions. Further back, Serious Cobra looked to take the lane right behind Clockwork Chai, but neither Forty Two or Eastern Townships were showing much at this point. Grand Sierra now began to run, but had five lengths to make up.

(Finish- 1:32.81)- In the stretch, Controlled Power was still looking good, and would not have that much difficulty in holding off Clockwork Chai or Gallivant. It ends up being an impressive run, with a perfect trip for our race winner. Clockwork Chai gradually made progress, and ends up second. Can’t forget about Gallivant in all of this, because he too had a strong stretch performance, and generally ran even with Clockwork Chai at this point. In a very tight photo, Serious Cobra is fourth over Compress and the late running Grand Sierra, who actually dead heat for fifth. Rounding out the running order are Eastern Townships, Banshee Star, The Force Awakens, and Forty Two.

About The Winner- Controlled Power, trained by Spankys Barn and ridden to victory by C S Nakatani, is a four year old gelding by Controlled Hook, and out of Ironbound Queen. He was bred in California by LionKing Stables, and acquired by Spankys Barn via a $35.000 claim in a maiden claiming race in May of last year. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his fourth in 12 starts, his second win, and actually his first graded win. His career earnings now stand at $478.500.

Track: Firm
Time: :23   :46¹  1:09   1:32⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 7 – 3 Paid 20.00
$1 Trifecta: 7 – 3 – 1 Paid 133.60

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES