Lewis Stakes (Grade 3) (KYD)- $150.000 Purse
SA- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
February 2, 2019

The track at SA was fast for race day, something that has created some discussion amongst trainers. This allowed us to see an impressive performance by Fear The Dragon, who was coming off a win in the Springboard Mile by wiring the field. In the Lewis Stakes, he would do the same thing, establishing himself not just as a strong contender for the KYD, but a possibly highly influential participant in that race if he makes and continues to run on the lead like this. It has worked for LionKing Stable ever since he gelded this horse in September. It is the first win in the race for the trainer, as well as for jockey G Boulanger. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:41.55, tying for the second quickest edition the stake in its history. Note that the race eventual saw its third scratch, with Mb Stables pulling Entrepreneur late. Let’s take a look at how it happened!

(1/4 Mile- :23.77)- Fear The Dragon, our eventual winner rom LionKing Stables wastes no time jumping out to the quick lead and opening up by a length on the competition. Conformity, hoping to pick up another big prep race win today for Joshua Stables looked like he might battle him early, but it would eventually be Allinthegate’s Orange Star taking the second position. Conformity would settle into third, and had both Argead (Smokey Stover) and Whats The Big Idea (Oquinn Farm) half a length behind him while running to his inside. After about two lengths, Not A Pretty One (Estero Farms) and At Your Service (Mb Stables) ran side by side. The rest of the field, King Niagra (John Henry), Zero Annuity (Nakamura Stables), Hymnal (Williams9), and Red Cup (Our Athletes), ran together and were only about five and half lengths from the front themselves, so no one was really trailing by a large margin in the early moments.

(½ Mile- :47.38)- Not much changes during this portion of the race, although Orange Star does make an effort to get closer to the pace setting Fear The Dragon. Our leader is looking good, and does not seem bothered by this challenge. Two lengths behind him, the race has a similar look with Conformity, Argead, and What The Big Idea still running three wide, and two lengths back. The horse that made the biggest move at this time was Red Cup, who shot through a gap near the rear of the field to advance his position up to fifth and cut his deficit to being less then four lengths. The rest of the field were content at this point to wait for their time to strike.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- As they make their way around the turn, Fear The Dragon, who will also become known as “Fear The Pacesetter” if this keeps up, continues to pour it on, and there was nothing that Orange Star could do about this. That one was unable to stay with him, and dropped out of it. This was bad news for Whats The Big Idea, who was caught at the wrong place at the wrong time, needing to check up (and then some) to avoid running into him. That one’s race was officially ruined. Red Cup, who had been moving forward, continued his steady pace, and this allowed him to move into second, to the outside of Argead, though Red Cup seemed to be the bigger threat now. There was still three lengths to make up. Conformity starting backing up, and a couple new players, King Niagra and Zero Annuity, were emerging as threats from the back of the field.

(Finish- 1:41.55)- With a furlong to go, Fear The Dragon still had a comfortable two length lead. Red Cup was hitting a good stride but would also need Fear The Dragon to begin to tire out in order to steal the win away late. That would not happen, as Fear The Dragon remained in good shape to win by a length, over Red Cup, was a clear second. It was a length and a half to a three-way photo for the third spot, which saw the latecomers, King Niagra and Zero Annuity take the checks and Argead to be fifth. At Your Service was in the vicinity in sixth, and is probably the last one in this field where the respective trainer will at least be content with the result. The rest of the running order is Not A Pretty One, Hymnal, Conformity, Whats The Big Idea, and Orange Star.

About The Winner- Fear The Dragon, trained by LionKing Stables and ridden to victory by G Boulanger, is a three year old gelding by Mazula Ruler, and it out of Hustle On Home. He was bred in the great breeding state of Pennsylvania by Acber Farms, and acquired by LionKing directly from the breeder in the September 2018 auction for $126.120. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his third in eight starts, his second stake win, and first graded win. His career earnings are now $297.070.

Track: Fast
Time: :23³  :47¹  1:10⁴  1:41²

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 8 – 11 Paid 47.80
$1 Trifecta: 8 – 11 – 9 Paid 35.10

Scratched: Entrepreneur(L), Clutch, Not To Be Denied

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES