CT Classic (Grade 2)- $1,000.000 Purse
CT- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
August 26, 2022

A field of nine took to the bullring at CT for the annual CT Classic, looking for the winner’s share of the $1,000.000 purse. Among them was Oleg, one of those horses that if he could ever be consistent, could be up there with some of the greats in the game right now. For now, his reputation is mainly that of a very good horse which would respect, but also one that you could see finishing anywhere between first and last on any given day. When looking at the field, I got a feeling about him here, and made him my pick to win, and that would prove to be the right decision as Oleg scores the win by about half a length. He is trained by Arindel, who hopes this can be the start of a streak for his colt, and was ridden by D Moran, who’s become his regular rider. Congratulations to them! It is the first win for each in this race, and the winning time was 1:47.89, a middle of the road such time for the race. Let’s take a look!

(½ Mile- :47.59)- Out of the gate, our eventual winner, Arindel’s Oleg, is good right from the start, jumping out to the lead with some company in the form of TwinTowersRacing’s Strange Magic. They take the early backstretch run with a lead of about two lengths on the rest of the field, and move around the opening turn and into the front stretch with the same advantage. Behind them, there were three in a stalking position but maybe not as close to the leaders as the trainers would have preferred. After half a mile, Joe Grind would emerge as the quickest of those three, running for Night Rider Stables, pulling about a length of the two he was with. Boardwalk ran on the rail here for Nakamura Stables, and in the third lane it was Oleg’s stablemate, Hint Of Sugar. Behind these three, Higher Drift (Asgar), and First Sargeant (High Voltage) were looking to get more involved in the middle of the field. Further back, it was Lokoya Road (Establo Pichon) and Flip A Coin Party (Threshold).

*- Writers Note: My apologies to Establo Pichon for identifying his horse as being trained by Fractious in the preview.

(3/4 Mile- 1:11.56)- The field moves around the second turn and midway through the backstretch for the second time, and Arindel had to be very pleased right now that the good version of Oleg was showing up. He was beginning to put a little distance now on Strange Magic, pulling out to about a length and a half lead. As of now, a new challenger had not emerged from the back but both Joe Grind and Hint Of Sugar were positioned the best on the track to make such a run. Boardwalk was losing a little ground to those he was running with while First Sargeant looked to make a 4-5 wide move here, which would take him that way into the turn. Higher Drift was still in the middle of the pack, but had not made a move as of yet. Flip A Coin Party completed the pass of Lokoya Road on the rail but still had a lot more work to do.

(Top of Stretch, 1F To Go)- It’s all Oleg in the turn, as the Soviet Warrior colt is still unchallenged and holds a lead of about two lengths. All he would have to go is run consistently to the wire, and this race would be his. Joe Grind moved into second, but took the turn in a three to four wide position with a lot of work left to go. They were really bunch up in the middle of the field, being about five across the track with Flip A Coin Party about to join in with this group within a few strides in the stretch. All they were going to do, though, is determine the back of end of the trifecta at this point. Lokoya Road was the only one not already mentioned that was not a part of that five wide group.

(Finish- 1:47.89)- Today would be one of those days for Oleg. It was a great race from start to finish for him, as he had no concerns within the stretch, either. Joe Grind would cut down on the eventual margin of victory in the closing moments, but never mounted a true bid for the win. That would be Oleg, getting the biggest win of his career and we’ll see what he does from that point. Joe Grind is a clear second, with Flip A Coin Party and First Sargeant emerging from that pack to get a third place dead heat. Higher Drift, Boardwalk, Hint Of Sugar, Strange Music, and Lokoya Road is the rest of the running order.

About The Winner- Oleg, trained by Arindel and ridden to victory by D Moran is a four year old colt by Soviet Warrior and is out of Hollywood Witch. He was bred by Arindel in New York as a third quarter two year old, and they have been together throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his fifth in 21 starts, and his fourth stake win. His career earnings are now $1,456.200.

Track: Fast
Time: :47²  1:11   1:35¹  1:47⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 2 – 6 Paid 60.30
$1 Trifecta: 2 – 6 – 7 Paid 526.00, 2 – 6 – 10 Paid 263.50

Scratched: Positive Id

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES