Carrick gets out of town after shocking bettors in Secretariat

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Carrick was flying back to New York on Sunday after sending horseplayers flying back to their past performances, trying to figure out how he won the Grade 1, $400,000 Secretariat Stakes on Saturday at Arlington.

Carrick’s three starts before the Secretariat: A $40,000 maiden-claiming win, a $50,000 non-winners-of-two starter-allowance win, and a third in the Grade 3 Kent, which Untamed Domain probably would’ve won without terrible trouble.

Carrick’s best Beyer Speed Figure before Saturday was 83. He got a 97 for running 1 1/4 miles in 2:01.04, 1.25 seconds faster than the 4-year-old Robert Bruce clocked later Saturday in the Arlington Million.

Jerry Crawford, president of Donegal Racing, Carrick’s owner, insisted the colt’s connections went into the Secretariat confident in their 38-1 shot.

“It was all about the distance. We knew he’d love a mile and a quarter,” Crawford said.

Carrick got a great trip, stalking a strong pace from fifth under John Velazquez, and ran down odds-on favorite Analyze It to win by a neck. Trainer Tom Morley texted on Sunday that Carrick appeared to have come out of his shocking win in good shape. There are no immediate plans for Carrick, a son of Giant’s Causeway purchased at auction for $75,000.

“Jerry and I will discuss this week,” said the New York-based Morley, who won his second Grade 1.

Analyze It, meanwhile, took his third straight second-place finish and second straight in a Grade 1. Last month, he was narrowly defeated in the $1.25 million Belmont Derby Invitational after passing the eventual winner, Catholic Boy.

Analyze It now has three easy wins in races up to 1 1/16 miles and three losses in starts between 1 1/8 and 1 1/4 miles. It’s not like Analyze It falls on his face over 10 furlongs, but he does appear to be more of a miler type and is likely to get a cutback in distance, trainer Chad Brown said. One very viable target would be the 1 1/8-mile Hill Prince on Oct. 6 at Belmont.

“If I could run the horse two more times this year, it’d probably be Hill Prince and Hollywood Derby and then give him a proper break,” Brown said.

Bandua, who was third, 2 3/4 lengths behind Analyze It, shipped in from Ireland for the race and will stay in the U.S. for the time being. Bandua ships to Keeneland and is likely to be aimed at the Dueling Grounds Derby at Kentucky Downs while still running in the name of trainer Dermot Weld.

Platinum Warrior, a nose behind Bandua in fourth, came here from Ireland on a one-way ticket. He is headed to California by way of Kentucky to continue his career in the U.S.

– additional reporting by David Grening