Bodexpress holds off Code of Honor to win Clark
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Bodexpress became something of an international sensation when he raced with the pack in the 2019 Preakness without a jockey. Memes were created. People laughed.
On Friday, Bodexpress and his connections got the latest laugh. Cleverly ridden by Rafael Bejarano, Bodexpress became known in a more knowing community as a Grade 1 winner, holding off favored Code of Honor to win the $500,000 Clark, the annual fall showcase at Churchill Downs.
“I’m really happy about the horse, he deserves it,” said Gustavo Delgado Jr., the son of and assistant to his father, trainer Gustavo Delgado. “He deserves it, the horse deserves it.”
While allowing Phantom Currency, a 155-1 shot, to run loose on the early lead, Bejarano secured the closest stalking spot as a full field of 14 turned into the backstretch in the 146th running of the Grade 1 Clark, which was run at 1 1/8 miles under the Churchill lights and amid temperate autumn weather. Into the far turn, as several rivals moved to challenge while Phantom Currency faltered, Bejarano sat chilly while maintaining a clear position.
Mr Freeze was the first to get a momentary lead, but Bodexpress kept to his task. In the final furlong, under steady pressure, Bodexpress made a tenuous lead while proceeding to hold sway, prevailing by a length over Code of Honor, a two-time Grade 1 winner whose steady stretch run under John Velazquez from midpack just wasn’t enough.
“This horse just showed so much run today,” said Bejarano, a former leading rider on the Kentucky circuit. “I’m so proud of him.”
Bodexpress, a 4-year-old Kentucky-bred colt by Bodemeister, is owned by Top Racing, Global Thoroughbred, and GDS Racing Stable. He returned $25.40 as sixth choice after finishing in 1:49.12 over a fast track. Owendale was third with a belated run, another neck before Coastal Defense. Mr Freeze was fifth.
Ironically, Velazquez was the jockey on Bodexpress when the colt stumbled badly at the break of the 2019 Preakness, throwing him without injury resulting to anyone.
“We got into a good spot on the backstretch in between horses,” he said. “We were chasing the speed, and turning for home, we didn’t have a lot of room. When I finally got a spot to run around the eighth pole, [Bodexpress] kept going, and we weren’t able to catch him.”
Delgado said the Jan. 23 Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park in south Florida, his father’s home base, is “absolutely” the next target for Bodexpress, whose $282,100 winner’s share brings his career bankroll to $694,600. The colt now has won 4 of 17 starts and was coming off an 11-length victory in a Gulfstream Park West allowance in which he earned a career-high 102 Beyer Speed Figure.
“This is a different horse than what we saw last year,” said Delgado Jr. “He’s really matured.”
The $2 exacta (8-3) paid $120, the $1 trifecta (8-3-9) returned $393.20, and the 10-cent superfecta (8-3-9-11) was worth $378.80.
* Sunday is closing day at the 24-day Churchill fall meet. Turfway Park in northern Kentucky begins four months of winter racing Wednesday evening.