Bricks and Mortar, appearing beaten, charges home to take the Turf Classic

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Bricks and Mortar showed Saturday at Churchill Downs before a huge audience why he’s been the No. 1-rated horse for the last four weeks in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll.

Taking the worst of it when racing well off the pace in the 33rd running of the Grade 1, $1 million Old Forester Turf Classic, the 5-year-old horse put his head down in the final furlong to get the job done. He paid $4.20 as favorite in a field of 13 older horses in the Old Forester, the traditional lead-in to the traditional lead-in to the Kentucky Derby.

“He’s got a tremendous heart, and he’s just so consistent,” said Chad Brown, who trains Bricks and Mortar for Klaravich Stables and William H. Lawrence.

With Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard, Bricks and Mortar settled comfortably while racing mid-pack through the first six furlongs of the 1 1/8-mile race, but then things started to grow dire as Qurbaan seized control once the field straightened for home. Still seventh passing the quarter pole, Ortiz deftly maneuvered Bricks and Mortar into the middle of the turf course, and under steady left-handed pressure, the horse did the rest, pushing past Qurbaan in the final 20 yards or so to prevail by a half-length.

Clyde’s Image, always in the mix, ran on to finish another 1 1/4 lengths back in third, while another Brown trainee and the 9-2 second choice, Raging Bull, was up late to get fourth from March to the Arch.

Bricks and Mortar, bred in Kentucky by George Strawbridge Jr., finished the 1 1/8-mile distance in 1:51.80 over a course rated firm. He now has won eight of 10 career starts, including all three this year. The $570,400 winner’s share lifts his career bankroll to $3,768,650, with most of that coming from his two-back triumph in the $6.7 million Pegasus World Turf Cup at Gulfstream Park in January.

The $2 exacta (12-1) paid $46.60, the $1 trifecta (12-1-6) returned $417.60, and the $1 superfecta (12-1-6-2) was worth $1,444.

After the top five, the order was Markitoff, Synchrony, Sabador, Ticonderoga, Next Shares, Multiplier, Prime Attraction, and Breaking the Rules.

The NTRA conducts a weekly poll among media members ranking the top horses on the continent.