Carnacks Choice gets up

Carnacks Choice, boxed in throughout much of the running of the $50,000 Turfway Prevue Stakes Saturday, found room in the stretch and outfinished favored Joe Got Even by a neck.

Confidently handled by Julien Leparoux, Carnacks Choice contested the pace for the first furlong of the 6 1/2-furlong Prevue before being taken back as the field proceeded down the backstretch. Falling back into a stalking position in third, he always appeared to be running comfortably, as Danny Sez set fractions of 22.78 and 45.81 seconds.

Stuck behind the tiring leaders, he had nowhere to run on the turn, while Joe Got Even surged alongside with a three-wide trip. But as the field came into the stretch, Danny Sez drifted enough off the rail to allow Carnacks Choice an opening, and he bravely shot through.

He gradually outkicked Joe Got Even, racing the 6 1/2 furlongs over Turfway's Polytrack surface in 1:15.82. Cajun Mon finished 2 1/2 lengths further back in third.

Awesome Hero, Follow the Moon, Grand Scale, and Tainted Money were scratched.

Carnacks Choice ($7), a 3-year-old son of Carson City out of the Tabasco Cat mare Ellesmere, won his first stakes race in the Turfway Prevue. He had run a distant second at Churchill Downs behind eventual Sugar Bowl stakes winner Teuflesberg in his prior start on Nov. 25.

Greg Foley trains the winner for Sassafras Racing I, Inc.