Confirming his status as one of the country's leading turf runners, Ironicus charged to the lead in deep stretch to earn the second graded stakes victory of his career in course-record time. Never off the board in nine prior tries over the lawn, the steel gray earned his first graded triumph in Pimlico's GII Dixie S. May 16 and followed with an easy win in a one-mile Belmont allowance contest July 8. The colt recently came up a neck short when second in a loaded renewal of the GII Fourstardave H. Aug. 15 and was hammered down to even-money favoritism to return to the winner's circle Monday.
The Janney homebred assumed his usual spot reserved off the pace as Constitution (Tapit) rolled along on an unopposed lead through fractions of :23.32 and :46.36. Threaded between horses as the field condensed on the final bend, Ironicus angled to the outside and kicked on powerfully to win going away by 1 1/4 lengths. The course-record time was 1:38.54, breaking the previous mark of 1:38.91 established by the legendary Fourstardave in 1991.
“Javier [Castellano] said he felt like he was sitting on the best horse and he said he wasn't going to go wide today and took a chance and hung out,” commented winning trainer Shug McGaughey. “I thought he rode another great race and a great horse. It was a little bit of a throw away because after the Fourstardave I didn't plan on running him here again, but he came out of his race good and he hasn't really been running that much, so I thought we might as well give him a chance. I'm very proud of the track record, any time you can do something like that it goes on the horse's record and you can get somebody to maybe take a look at it.”
For owner/breeder Stuart Janney, the victory was confirmation of his faith in the colt. “We've thought he was a very good horse, and he continues to improve,” Janney said. “His last couple of races have been terrific races. Last time, it didn't set up just the way we hoped. It was a slow pace and he had to go wide, and he still ran wonderfully. This time, he had a better trip, better pace, and he really finished beautifully. It was terrific.”
Meghan's Joy, who sold for $450,000 while in foal to Deputy Minister at the 2001 Keeneland November sale, was bred to Distorted Humor this spring.
Sunday, Saratoga
BERNARD BARUCH H.-GII, $250,000, SAR, 9-7, 3yo/up, 1 1/16mT, 1:38.54 (NCR), fm.
1–IRONICUS, 118, c, 4, by Distorted Humor
1st Dam: Meghan's Joy (MSP), by A.P. Indy
2nd Dam: Queens Wild, by Spectacular Bid
3rd Dam: Wild Applause, by Northern Dancer
O/B-Stuart S Janney III LLC (KY); T-Claude RMcGaughey III; J-Javier Castellano. $150,000.Lifetime Record: 11-5-4-1, $573,790. *1/2 to Hunting (Coronado's Quest), GSW, $286,395; Quiet Harbor (Silver Deputy), GSW, $274,670; Norumbega (Tiznow), GSW, $506,945; Seal Cove (Strong Hope), SW, $261,700; Minister's Joy (Deputy Minister), MGSP, $327,247. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
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2–Grand Tito, 116, h, 5, Candy Ride (Arg)–GoldenArches (Fr), by Common Grounds (GB). ($225,000 Ylg '11 KEESEP). O-Grupo Seven C Stable;
B-Hargus & Sandra Sexton & Ben P Walden Jr (KY); T-Gustavo Delgado. $50,000.
3–All Included, 115, c, 4, Include–Eximius (GB), by Atticus. O/B-Wertheimer Et Frere (KY); T-Todd A Pletcher. $25,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, NO, 1 1/4. Odds: 1.00, 27.75, 13.50.
Also Ran: Vyjack, Constitution, Under Control (Brz), Charming Kitten. Click for the Equibase.com chart, or the TJCIS PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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