In a five-horse court with no pace, jockey Joel Rosario brought it forward with a dominating victory on the ropes. Western Italian Power in $350,000 Hagyard Fayette Stakes (G2) on October 29 at Keeneland.
The race for the meeting lead titles, which was already as exciting as the race on the track, ended in dramatic style on the closing day after a score of 6 3/4 the length of West Will Power. His owners, Mary and Gary West, as well as his coach, Brad Cox, cemented their positions at the top of their respective leaderboards in the second-to-last race of the day. .
Cox said: “(West Will Power) is done but he is clearly a beautiful horse. “This is his third race after the layoff. He’s a good-natured horse who always finds his best move later in life.”
Taking the lead from halftime, Rosario never gave up cruise control on Bernardini’s 5-year-old son as the pair made soft opening fractions of: 25,17 ,:49.17 and 1:13.93.
Favorite race First Captain travel far return soon with fellow Cox runner Handsome , was set to drive over the pole half a mile but had no response, leaving West Will Power to his own devices when the yard turned home. Extending his advantage to 2 1/2 lengths at pole 1/4, the big bay continues to corner it across the lane while his enemies scramble behind him.
Registering his first ranked win, West Will Power thundered past the limit in a final time of 1:50.68 for 1 1/8 mile on a fast drying track in the afternoon.
Fulsome, unleashed on a wide field, rallies tired opponents to complete a precise Cox. The Last Samurai Warrior owned by the late Willis Horton Racing by Willis Horton, had three quarters of the length back to the third after chasing West Will Power through.
Finishing as second pick at the windows, West Will Power paid $4.74 for a $2 winning ticket.
Cox said: “We are so proud of (West Will Power) and I have to thank Mary and Gary West for being patient with him and taking the time after last fall.
In addition to the bet amount classified as winning Wild events Wests’ mare Wild Promises is back after 11 months of being fired for a tight second place in the RA “Cowboy” Jones Overnight Stakes at Ellis . Park. Stretching back to 1 1/8 mile, he then unequivocally defeated a formation of older horses in a duel Churchill Downs optional claimant allowance. The next step was to go through the company classification again, and he passed that test with flying colors.
Increasing his bankroll to $525,230, West Will Power has a 5-5-0 record from 12 trips to the post.
Cox was delighted to win his third consecutive Keeneland fall meet title. The coach limited the meeting to 11 wins.
“Eleven is a great number and hopefully it will make its way to the Breeders’ Cup. A few years ago we had a great meeting here in the fall and we had a Shepherd’s Cup. Great farming, so we’re looking forward to the Breeders” Cup without COVID and with the fans here.
“It was amazing (Wests won the owner’s title),” Cox continued. “They won the title at Churchill in September and it was amazing; they support the Kentucky race and they have the numbers and the stock to do it. Congratulations to them and how lucky I am to be. get to be part of their team. They’ve supported racing for as long as I can remember.”
Video: Hagyard Fayette S. (G2)
