The Hutcheson Stakes ($100.000 Purse)
GP- For Three Year Olds
Six Furlongs on the Dirt
March 16, 2024

In his last race, Last Round came from behind to finish here in the Grade 3 Swale Stakes and based on that he seemed to be the horse to beat in the Hutcheson Stakes. We would make him our pick to win, and he also went off as the post time favorite. Not many people were surprised, therefore, went he crossed the finish line first. It was close at the wire, but he would get a head up on his stablemate, Edward The Good, completing the all-Fractious exacta. For the trainer, it is his second win in this race, and they have come over the last two years. Jockey L Saez is a two-time winner as well now, with his last win coming in 2016. Congratulations to them! The time of the race was 1:09.19, a median time when this stake had been run at six furlongs. Let’s take a look at it!

(1/4 Mile- :22.34)- Out front at the start of the race is the Mb Stables- trained Diametric, and he will have a length advantage over his closest rival, Spellbinding, who runs on the outside for Night Rider Stables. Running right behind the leader is Asgar’s Crypto Boss, and Lasting Impressions is a half-length behind for Alydar Stables. Running in the middle of the field are the two Fractious horses including the eventual winner of the race, Last Round. Edward the Good is there as well, and it’s another length to Spb Racing’s Hesa Super Freak, who runs on the far outside. At the back of the pack are Matriculate (TwinTowersRacing) and Judge Isakoff (Bkm Racing).

(½ Mile- :45.44, Top of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Diametric leads the field into the turn and is able to hold his length advantage entering the stretch. Last Round ran about a length behind the likes of Crypto Boss, Lasting Impressions, and Spellbinding for the majority of the turn, but those three were very considerate of the Swale runner-up and left a wide-open lane right in front of him for whenever Last Round decided to take advantage of it. He would begin to do so approaching the exit of the turn. Edward The Good was keeping pace but needed to deal with both the outside trip and the fading Spellbinding. Elsewhere, Hesa Super Freak needed to show something, and both Matriculate and Judge Isakoff would need a miracle to pull off the win.

(Finish- 1:09.19)- Entering the stretch, Diametric was hanging tough, and with a furlong to go, L Saez moved Last Round down a lane to prepare to make the pass for the win. Lasting Impressions drifted out to allow that to happen, and that could have been a minor hindrance to Edward The Good. Nearing the wire, Last Round dug in, pulled even and slipped by Diametric then looked to hang on over his stablemate. He would do so in a photo, with Diametric also within a half-length as he finished third. Lasting Impressions was close by in fourth, with Crypto Boss setting for a frustrating fifth by a length result. Hesa Super Freak was next, then the rest of the field was soundly defeated. Matriculate, Judge Isakoff, and Spellbinding round it out.

About The Winner- Last Round, trained by Fractious and ridden to victory by L Saez, is a three-year-old gelding by I Want More and is out of the late Rockee. He was bred by Team 7 Illusions as a yearling in Kentucky and was acquired by Fractious for $150.000 in a July private sale. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his second in nine starts, and first stake win. His career earnings are now $182.300.

Track: Fast
Time: :22¹  :45²  :57¹  1:09

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 3 – 7 Paid 34.50
$1 Trifecta: 3 – 7 – 6 Paid 639.60

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded