Adonius takes narrow Indian Summer triumph in North American debut
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LEXINGTON, Ky. – Adonius shipped from England and won his North American debut Sunday at Keeneland, coming out on top of a wild four-horse finish and giving his England-based trainer Rebecca Menzies a victory with her first North American starter. His jockey, John Velazquez, had already been doing a lot of winning around these parts.
Velazquez rode Classic Q to victory in the Grade 1 First Lady on Saturday, then piloted American History to a win in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity. He’d already won three races on Sunday when Adonius prevailed by a head in the Grade 3, $291,000 Indian Summer, a turf sprint for 2-year-olds.
“The horses are responding, and when they respond for you, they make you look good,” Velazquez said.
Adonius also made one of her American owners, Sean Clancy, look good. Clancy’s Riverdee Stables and West Paces Stable bought into Adonius after the colt won his first three races, original owner Michael Hughes staying in on the horse.
“He’s got a great, low, light action,” Clancy said. “He’s light on his feet.”
Adonius’ second in the Group 3 Molecomb at Goodwood showed Menzies and the colt’s owners enough to plot a trip to America, this race and, if Adonius earned the chance, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint in 26 days. The Indian Summer is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, and Adonius is in the race. Stabled in the barn of trainer Brendan Walsh, Adonius will remain at Keeneland this month.
Menzies mainly trains jump horses and once trained one for Clancy, which opened the relationship. Her yard in Durham, in northern England, houses 33 flat horses this year.
“He’s obviously the quickest one and our best 2-year-old this year,” Menzies said.
Velazquez said connections told him that Adonius was a fast horse.
“I said, ‘He’s fast over there, but I don’t think he’s going to be fast over here,’” Velazquez said.
Adonius grew unsettled in the starting gate, Velazquez said, and broke last from the rail – a blessing in disguise, it turned out.
Wood Island, a brilliant gate horse, rocketed out to the lead, but Ruiva, favored over Wood Island, has loads of speed herself, and quickly came up to press the issue. The leaders were flying, going an opening quarter-mile in a breakneck 21.15. Flavien Prat on Wood Island knew he couldn’t sustain that kind of speed and hope to have any horse at the finish, so early on the turn he let Irad Ortiz and Ruiva go. Wood Island briefly resented being taken out of his game, Prat said, as Ruiva cruised along on a clear lead. She got her half-mile in a wicked 44.37 and still jumped forward, opening a lead of several lengths, when Ortiz asked for more in upper stretch.
But the pace was going to get to Ruiva eventually and, as her stride shortened at the eighth pole, the field closed in. Adonius had been last on the backstretch before Velazquez began picking off rivals one by one around the turn.
“He’d never been behind horses, and he was a little green, but once I asked him down the lane, he gave me a nice kick,” Velazquez said.
Closing on the far outside, Adonius got up by a head in the final stride.
Love a Warrior stalked the pace and finished well enough for second making his turf debut in his third start.
“When he first broke out of there he was kind of lost, but he got into it,” jockey Luis Saez said.
Wood Island also ran well in defeat, finishing third, a nose behind Love a Warrior and a head in front of Ruiva.
“When horses came outside of him, he gave me a good run,” jockey Flavien Prat said. “I think it’ll be a good learning experience.”
Ruiva ran as well as the three who finished just ahead of her. Trainer Wesley Ward said Ortiz thought he’d pushed the button just a little too soon.
Adonius paid $9.18 and ran 5 1/2 furlongs over very firm turf in 1:03.46. Adonius is by Soldier’s Call out of Dubai Paradise, by Exceed and Excel. He’s in the Breeders’ Cup.
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