The Appleton (Grade 3)- $150.000 Purse
GP- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on the Inner Turf
March 30, 2024

Three horses that ran in the BC last November would appear in the Grade 3 Appleton, and after the race, two of them would share the winner’s circle. We would end up having a dead heat between Prom King and Last Way To The Beac, a couple of horses that know a thing or two about winning a big race. Each were among our picks to win and share the top prize. Prom King is trained by Mb Stables and was ridden by F Prat, while Last Way To The Beac is trained by Maxmillion Farm and was ridden by S X Bridgmohan. For all parties involved, it is their first win in the Appleton. I guess it was a little unusual for both Mb Stables and Maxmillion to not have won the same race yet, so we’d just kill that anomaly in one race. The time of the race was 1:32.57, and if we’re comparing it to editions where the conditions are identical, that is the second quickest such time. Let’s take a look at it now:

(1/4 Mile- :23.19)- Claiming the early lead will be Seven Is Lucky, for Mb Stables, and he will hold a length advantage into the opening turn. Last Way To The Beac, one half of our eventual winners, runs second while riding the rail for Maxmillion Farm, and he will have Threshold’s Bronze Bomber right beside him while Liberty For All takes the outside lane for The Next Lohnro. The other eventual winner, Mb Stables’ Prom King runs directly behind Last Way To The Beac early on, and to his outside is Big Jd Racing’s Devils Delight. Next up, is Luz International’s Brighter Days Ahead, who runs by himself. Hurricane Fly (Fractious) leads the those at the back. Three wide behind him are Apache Ascent (High Voltage), Drone Strike (D J C Racing Stables) and Cascade King (Nakamura Stables).

(½ Mile- :46.33)- Around the turn and into the backstretch, Seven Is Lucky continues to lead the way, and holds an approximate length lead over Last Way To The Beac. That one is still on the rail, with Bronze Bomber stalking the top two. A little further back, Prom King is no longer directly right behind his co-winner, and but still is along the inside, himself. Liberty For All and Devils Delight run three wide with him and are each credited with behind ahead of him at this point of the race. Brighter Days Ahead is next, by himself, and that is also true for Hurricane Fly. Apache Ascent, Drone Strike, and Cascade King continue to run together at the back.

(Top of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Seven Is Lucky remains the leader throughout the backstretch run, and as we move into the turn. Over the second half of the turn, Last Way To The Beac methodically begins to pull up alongside him, and these two will be neck and neck entering the stretch. Meanwhile, Prom King would move into third, completing a pass of Bronze Bomber as they entered the stretch. He would have about a length and a half to make up on the frontrunners. Devils Delight was hanging with them, and the rest of the field that was further back would surely have its comers and goers, but it would take the stretch to figure out who they may be.

(Finish- 1:32.57)- With a furlong to go, Last Way To The Beac prevails over Seven Is Lucky, but he still had an Mb Stables horse to worry about as Prom King was coming. That was able to position himself to the third lane and had the ability to make a run without any obstructions. It did seem, for a moment, that Last Way To The Beac would be too strong for him, but we would have a good battle in the closing moments between these two. Prom King would give it everything he had, and at the wire, he would not pass Last Way To The Beac, but would draw evenly with him for a dead to be declared. The race’s other king, Cascade King, made a late run from the center of the racetrack to get up for third, and the fourth-place check will be split in yet another dead heat, this between Devils Delight and Seven Is Lucky. It’s another length to Brighter Days Ahead, who beats Bronze Bomber, Drone Strike, Liberty For All, Hurricane Fly, and Apache Ascent.

About The Winners:
Last Way To The Beac, trained by Maxmillion Farm and ridden to victory by S X Bridgmohan, is a six-year-old gelding by Britslastbutnotleast and is out of One Way To The Beach. He was bred by Lemax Farms in Pennsylvania as a second quarter two-year-old and was acquired by Maxmillion Farm for $275.000 in a January 2021 private sale. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his tenth in 32 starts, his eighth stake win and seventh graded win. His career earnings are now $3,685.080.

Prom King, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by F Prat, is a five-year-old gelding by Profound Connection and is out of Belle Of The Ball. He was bred in Ontario by Mb Stables as a third quarter two-year-old but he had to be reacquired by Mb Stables after losing him in a claimer early on. Mb claimed him back in January 2023, from Onlineracingclub.com, for $32.000. Congratulations to the connections! The win his ninth in 17 starts, his fifth stake win, and fourth graded win. His career earnings are now $1,030.110.

Track: Firm
Time: :23  :46¹  1:09²  1:32²

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 1 – 3 Paid 27.70, 3 – 1 Paid 46.20
$1 Trifecta: 1 – 3 – 10 Paid 169.40, 3 – 1 – 10 Paid 135.70

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES