Bet Seattle outruns Delaunay in Duncan Kenner
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
Delaunay has been the king of Fair Grounds dirt sprints, but he was dethroned Saturday by Bet Seattle in the $56,400 Duncan Kenner Stakes.
Bet Seattle broke like a rocket from the outside gate in a field reduced to four by the scratches of Bellarmine, Jasizzle, and Nates Mineshaft, clearing Delaunay before an eighth of a mile had been run. He set moderate splits of 21.80 and 45.16 seconds, and held on to win by three-quarters of a length, with Delaunay home 2 1/4 lengths ahead of Too Dim, who broke terribly and closed with good energy. Take It Like a Man was a distant last.
Bet Seattle paid $7 to win and was timed in 1:09.83.
A 6-year-old owned and trained by Hugh Robertson, Bet Seattle is in career-best form, and he, too, has an affinity for Fair Grounds, with three wins and a third from four starts here.
“He’s a big horse, but he’s so light on his feet,” said winning rider Francisco Torres.
Bet Seattle summers at Arlington, and he has raced extensively on turf and synthetics: This was just his 14th career dirt start, and he has won half of them.
“I thought we’d be in front – he’s very fast – but I was surprised he made an easy lead like that,” said Robertson. “He’s a funny horse: You can’t hit him. Cisco just cocked his stick at him today, and he started swishing his tail.”
It’s a minor quirk. Bet Seattle surpassed $400,000 in career earnings in the Kenner, and was purchased for a song. Robertson can live with it.