Clear Conscience just lasts in Kingston over late-running Hush of a Storm
?q=100)
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - One more jump and the result of the Kingston Stakes would’ve been different, but no one in the winner’s camp was feeling guilty about Clear Conscience coming out on the right side of a head bob with onrushing Hush of a Storm.
“I’ve lost a lot of them, too,” trainer Mark Casse said.
Clear Conscience was indeed saved by the wire, jockey Jose Ortiz readily conceded, but the horse already had dug in and run hard for the better part of a half-mile, in so doing notching his first stakes victory in his 15th outing.
The winning margin in the $200,000 Kingston, for older New York-breds over 1 1/16 miles on turf, was, of course, a nose. Another 2 1/4 lengths back in third came Itsallcomintogetha, the horse who changed the pace dynamics of this race at the half-mile pole.
Itsallcomintogetha broke on top before Union Trail supplanted him on the lead and set fractions of 24.01 and 48.09, a very manageable pace on a firm course. But Itsallcomintogetha wasn’t settling into a comfortable rhythm for jockey Jose Gomez and before the far turn, Itsallcomintogetha launched an attack and swooped past the pacesetter.
Suddenly, the Kingston runners were traveling fast, the third quarter-mile, the one around the turn, a swift 22.96. Sitting third on the inside down the backstretch, Ortiz said he was following Itsallcomintogetha, and, shadowing that horse’s far-turn surge, Clear Conscience got pulled into the demanding tempo.
The burst of speed started took its toll on Itsallcomintogetha just as he appeared to be surging to a big lead turning for home. Clear Conscience had him measured by the eighth pole, and the danger came from behind, with 8-5 favorite Hush of a Storm finding his best stride past the furlong grounds. Ortiz said he didn’t know who was coming, just that someone was coming hard. The wire just happened to come first.
“It was a long, sustained run from the half-mile pole to the wire. I was very happy with the effort,” Ortiz said.
Clear Conscience, by Blame out of Blank Slate, by Gio Ponti, was timed in 1:41.30 and paid $22.60 winning for just the third time. Owned by Gary Barber, Pantofel Stable, and Wachtel Stable, Clear Conscience wound up with Casse when he was privately purchased last summer from his breeders, Alan Quartucci and Sebastian Varney.
Clear Conscience won his first start for his new connections, lost his next three, then was given a winter break. He returned to action last month, missing by a nose in a second-level New York-bred allowance at Aqueduct. Casse said the horse improved during his break, strengthening into his 5-year-old campaign.
Maybe he even grew an inch or so – just enough to win a tight photo in the Kingston.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.