The Dixie Stakes (Grade 2)- $250.000 Purse
PIM- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Turf
May 20, 2017

Two weeks ago, Antelope Storm was scheduled to run in the Woodford Turf Classic, but scratched out of it.  We don’t know with 100% certainty why that was the case, but a pretty good guess was that it was because of the rain that plagued KYD weekend at CD.   Scarletandgraystable had a backup plan, and would target the next triple crown undercard, and schedule his star in The Dixie Stakes at PIM.  He would seem to be the horse to beat, but he would go up against the winners of the last three editions of this race.  With much better weather this weekend, Antelope Storm stepped up against the likes of Seven Years and Sir Tom and would pick up the big win! It is the first win in the stake for the trainer, as well as for jockey J Rose.  Congratulations!  The time of the race was 1:39.41, making it the second quickest of the four editions of the stake that have been run at this exact distance!  Here’s a look at how it happened.

(1/4 Mile- :23.46)- It was a good start for several, but the two leaders as we moved into the first turn of the race were a couple of familiar names of Dixie’s past.  The pacesetter would be last year’s winner, Sir Tom, from Brave, and he would ultimately pull out to a half length lead on 2014 and 2015 Dixie Champion, Seven Years from Alydar Stables, down the front stretch.  In close proximity to the front two was Tower Isle (Winning Link Stables) for a little while before he would back off by about two lengths. To his inside, Inspector Jacque (Jader Stable) raced alongside the eventual winner, Antelope Storm from Scarletandgraystable.  Antelope Storm broke decently out of the gate and would simply be unhurried by J Rose while along the rail early on.  Blue Eight (Blushing Meadows) and Horse With No Name (Kopites) ran side by side behind him, and Tin Lizzie (Stald Gullis) could see them all in front of him, five lengths from the lead.

(½ Mile- :46.93)- Sir Tom and Seven Years battled in front of them and may have wished they could have settled this as a match race between them.   They battled each other hard, and knowing how they have been champions of the Dixie, it was pretty exciting to watch them battle it out and pull out to a four length advantage over third place.  That third place runner would be Antelope Storm, with J Rose seemingly very astute to the fact that he could not let that the top two get completely away, so he would start to get a little separate on Tower Isle and Inspector Jacque, and keep the top two within reach while hoping they would wear each other out.  Horse With No Name and Blue Eight also pulled up to Tower Isle and Inspector Jacque to make with four wide for fourth, while Tin Lizzie watched it all unfold in front of him.

(Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Sir Tom and Seven Years continue to go at one another pretty hard down the backstretch, and Antelope Storm starts to creep closer to them.  As the field moves into the turn, running six furlongs in 1:09.99, Seven Years starts to pull away from Sir Tom as last year’s winner may have been tired out by battling his rival so hard in the backstretch.  Seven Years would have the lead at the top of the stretch, but on exit of the turn, Antelope Storm had significantly cut into the lead, and now only had two lengths to make up.   These were the three making the race interesting, as the other four remained in the pack, with Horse With No Name, Inspector Jacque, and Blue Eight all four lengths for the lead.  Tin Lizzie had gone around Tower Isle but still had a lot of ground to make up at the back.

(Finish, 1:39.41)- Early in the stretch, Seven Years looked like he may have got a second wind, and what had seemed like an inevitable pass by Antelope Storm suddenly seemed not to be a certainty.  Antelope Storm, while on the rail, kept coming, and responded with everything he could, knowing that the veteran Seven Years would make it difficult.  With every stride, he got just a little bit closer, and he would complete the pass in time to get the win!  Seven Years looked good in his second place run.  After them, it became tight for third, and Horse With No Name had a pretty solid run in the stretch that should make Kopites happy with him.  Inspector Jacque slipped by Sir Tom for fourth as last year’s winner did not have it today.  Tin Lizzie just needed a couple more strides to pass him as well, but will have to settle for sixth.  Blue Eight did not show much in a seventh place finish, and Tower Isle labored home at the back.

About The Winner: Antelope Storm, ridden by J Rose and trained by Scarletandgraystable,  is a six year old gelding by Stormy and out of Antelope Lady.  He was bred in California as a first quarter two year old by Frozen Tundra. Congratulations to the connections!  He was acquired by the current trainer from Grimley in the December 2016 auction for $149.000.   In 27 starts, he has 13 wins, and this was his fifth graded victory.  His career earnings now sit at $1,147.500.

Track: Firm
Time: :23²  :46⁴  1:09⁴  1:39²

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 1 – 8 Paid 27.30
$1 Trifecta: 1 – 8 – 7 Paid 1,387.10

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES