Quality Road Colt Kicks It in Late in Ellis Park Juvenile

Tobacco Road | Coady Photo

After uncorking a head-turning move heading for home, Tobacco Road continued a sustained rally into the lane to wear down stablemate Whiskey Echo and get the job done as the public's pick. Fifth going six panels on debut at Churchill Downs June 28, the bay seemed to relish an additional furlong when he broke through over this track and trip July 29. Favored after having posted a bullet five-furlong drill in 1:00 4/5 here 10 days ago, the bay broke well enough before being taken back by Corey Lanerie to sit off the pace and out in the clear. He dropped further back into the bend, but began inhaling rivals around the bend and was up into fourth after a :45.66 half. Joining Whiskey Echo and Manny Wah four deep at the top of the stretch, he took some time to figure out his leads, but found his best stride in the final sixteenth to get the job done.

It was a juvenile stakes sweep for Lanerie, who was also a passenger aboard the uber-impressive Ellis Park Debutante S. heroine Serengeti Empress (Alternation).

“He had a completely different trip from the filly,” Lanerie noted. “He doesn't have as much speed as she did. He broke really good, and then the speed just kind of ran away from him. I had to kind of keep him busy the first quarter of a mile. once he found his stride around the turn, from the three-eighths to the quarter pole, I could tell I had a lot of horse. I was just trying to time it right and get him to the front at the right time.”

This owner/trainer combination took the 2016 Ellis Park Juvenile with Lookin At Lee (Lookin At Lucky), who completed the exacta in the following year's GI Kentucky Derby.

Mitch Dennison, assistant to trainer Steve Asmussen, added, “One-two, fighting right at the wire there. Obviously we set the bar where Lookin At Lee was at, and that's where Ellis has kind of thrown that out there. It's the same connections, same type of setup here. Steve called right when the horses crossed the wire, was very excited. He knows he's been training really well and breezing, both of them actually. The connections obviously will be very excited to have the same outcome as Lookin At Lee.”

With Tobacco Road's victory, sire Quality Road moved into first by himself among active U.S.-based sires by 2018 stakes winners with 15. Tobacco Road's dam cost $310,000 in foal to Animal Kingdom at the 2014 Keeneland November sale and produced an Uncle Mo colt last year. She hails from the extremely classy female family of Singspiel, Rahy and Campanologist.

ELLIS PARK JUVENILE S., $75,000, Ellis, 8-19, 2yo, 7f, 1:23.99, ft.
1–TOBACCO ROAD, 120, c, 2, by Quality Road&log=">Quality Road
1st Dam: Isobel Baillie (GB) (SP-Fr), by Lomitas (GB)
2nd Dam: Dubai Soprano (GB), by Zafonic
3rd Dam: Ring of Music (GB), by Sadler's Wells
($35,000 RNA Ylg '17 KEESEP).
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O-L and N Racing LLC; B-Flaxman
Holdings Limited & Airlie Stud (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen;
J-Corey J. Lanerie. $44,175. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, $70,905.
*1/2 to Alaura Michele (Arch), MSW & GSP, $229,179; Isabella
Sings (Eskendereya), MGSW, $648,170.[bullet ad=”lanes-end-tobacco-road”]2–Whiskey Echo, 120, c, 2, Tiznow–Atala, by Stormy Atlantic.
($225,000 Ylg '17 KEESEP). O-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC &
Willis Horton Racing LLC; B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY);
T-Steven M. Asmussen. $14,250.[bullet ad=”taylor-made-whiskey-echo”]3–Manny Wah, 120, c, 2, Will Take Charge–Battlefield Angel, by
Proud Citizen. ($175,000 Ylg '17 FTKJUL). O-Susan Moulton;
B-Martha Jane Mulholland & Modo Tesio Equine, LLC (KY);
T-Wayne M. Catalano. $7,125.[bullet ad=”mulholland-springs-manny-wah”]Margins: 3/4, HD, 11HF. Odds: 1.80, 2.00, 6.40.
Also Ran: Overanalyzer, Mine Inspector, S S Trooper, Shanghaied Roo, Pradar, Lady's Weekend, Veritas. Scratched: Giant Act.
Click for the Equibase.com chart.

 

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