Ali (Grade 3)- $200.000 Purse
KEE- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
April 14, 2018

With three of the seven horses in the field having a tie to Snakie, things were looking good that one of them would slither their way to a successful result. One of them would, and after a bunch of kissing and laffing, it would be Hidden Slew Laff and Kiss The Snake sharing the win as the stewards could not separate them in the photo. Each winner, Gdp Inc with Hidden Slew Laff, and Nakamura Stables with Kiss The Snake, wins the Ali for the first time. Jockeys J J Castellano and C J Lanerie also win for the first time. The time of victory was 1:48.11. Let’s take a look at it!

(½ Mile- :47.57)- Fresh out of the gate, Final Tune jumps out to the lead pretty quickly for Simmer Down Stable, and opens up by almost two lengths around the opening turn, and into the backstretch. Running second would be Acquisitive, from Mb Stables, who was running with Jake The Snake (Mb Stables) and Kiss The Snake (Nakamura Stables), before moving a little closer to the leader at the half mile mark. Kiss The Snake was nearly three lengths back here. L A Raw, from D J C Racing Stables was not initially fast from the gate, but made a decided move in the turn to get up to the middle of the field. Summertime Blues trailed by four for TwinTowersRacing, and at the back, Hidden Slew Laff waited for his time to strike for Gdp Inc, trailing by five and a half at this point.

(Top Of Stretch- 2F To Go)- Not much new to report at six furlongs, so as the field moved around the turn, Final Tune continued to lead, but Acquisitive was making a move to his outside, and would have a neck in front as the stretch run began. Kiss The Snake was a length and a half back, but had a great position on the track to be able to split the two frontrunners. L A Raw remained in the mix, though Jake The Snake was starting to get sleepy. Hidden Slew Laff gained a couple lengths in the turn, but still had a bit of ground to make up. Looked like he could follow Kiss The Snake through. Summertime Blues was lacking response.

(Finish- 1:48.11)- With a furlong to go, this race looked in the bag for Acquisitive. He was running so well, and seemingly had a comfortable length advantage. Kiss The Snake would not give in, and with Acquisitive unable to respond to the challenge, Kiss The Snake made the pass for the lead, but the hard charging Hidden Slew Laff, loomed as a major threat. Hidden Slew Laff got up just in time to force a photo that took a lot of examination before a dead heat was declared. Acquisitive is third, then a length back to yet another dead heat, this for fourth between Final Tune and L A Raw. Jake The Snake and Summertime Blues round out the field.

About the winners: Kiss The Snake, trained by Nakamura Stables and ridden by C J Lanerie, is a four year old gelding by Snakie, and out of Kissed A Girl. He was bred in Calfornia as a yearling by Night Mare Racing, and acquired by Nakamura Stables in private sales via Luz International for $200.000 in December 2017. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his sixth in 16 starts, and his third graded win. His career earnings are now $487.750.

Hidden Slew Laff, trained by Gdp Inc and ridden by J J Castellano is a four year old gelding by Not Laffin Now, and out Shot Laffin. He was bred as a first quarter two year old in the great breeding state of Pennsylvania by Gdp Inc, the only trainer for which he has ever known. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his seventh in 14 starts, and his second graded win. His career earnings are now $674.540.

Track: Fast
Time: :47²  1:11¹  1:35²  1:48

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 2 – 6 Paid 9.50, 6 – 2 Paid 9.90
$1 Trifecta: 2 – 6 – 4 Paid 813.70, 6 – 2 – 4 Paid 204.10

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES