Earls Rock has first graded stakes triumph in Thunder Road
ARCADIA, Calif. - A win in the Grade 3 Thunder Road Stakes for turf milers at Santa Anita on Saturday was a much-needed boost in the career of the 5-year-old gelding Earls Rock and the winter season of his top-class jockey, Flavien Prat.
Earls Rock won his first graded stakes in the $103,000 Thunder Road, closing on the inside through the final quarter-mile to prevail by a nose over a fast-closing Du Jour.
For Prat, the Thunder Road was his second stakes win of the track’s winter-spring meeting, a category he had comprehensively dominated in past seasons. At this time last year, Prat had 10 stakes wins at the winter-spring meeting, which begins on Dec. 26.
The victory was not confirmed until four minutes after Earls Rock reached the wire, a tight photo between Earls Rock ($9.80) and 15-1 Du Jour.
A courageous ride by Prat put Earls Rock in the winner’s circle.
Earls Rock was sixth with a quarter-mile remaining when Prat moved his mount forward on the rail, finding sufficient racing room. Earls Rock moved off the rail late and rallied between 9-5 favorite Air Force Red and pacesetter Dark Shift to reach the front in the final strides.
“I was hoping to get away through,” Prat said. “The pace was fair and I had a chance to get him to relax. At first, I was going to go around Air Force Red and he shifted out. I lost a bit of momentum.”
Earls Rock was third by two lengths with a furlong remaining, trailing leader Dark Shift.
“He responded when I asked him,” Prat said of Earls Rock.
Du Jour, eighth with a furlong remaining, ran out of ground to catch the winner in his first start since a fifth-place finish in the Grade 2 Mathis Mile in December 2021.
Ridden by Umberto Rispoli for trainer Bob Baffert, Du Jour rallied between Air Force Red and Irideo in the final furlong to finish second.
“I found a gap and got him through,” Rispoli said. “There were too many horses to go around. I think he ran a helluva race.”
Dark Shift, the winner of the 29-runner Royal Hunt Cup for milers at Royal Ascot in Britain last June, had his American stakes debut in the Thunder Road. Ridden by Frankie Dettori, Dark Shift (7-1) set a solid pace of 22.79 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 46.71 for a half-mile, closely tracked by Air Force Red.
Dark Shift led with a furlong remaining, but was passed briefly by Air Force Red who was unable to hold off Earls Rock and Du Jour. Air Force Red, who was ridden by Juan Hernandez, finished a neck behind Du Jour.
“I was having a nice trip,” Hernandez said. “He relaxed nicely. He passed the other horse, but the others were flying at the end.”
Irideo finished fourth, followed by Dark Shift, Cabo Spirit, Bob and Jackie, Kiss Today Goodbye, Anaconda, Hit the Road and There Goes Harvard.
Earls Rock was timed in 1:34.05 and earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 94. The Thunder Road was his fourth win in seven starts. Owned by Anthony Fanticola, Earls Rock was second in his debut in Northern Ireland in 2020, and has won 4 of 6 starts since being sent to the United States. Prat has been aboard for all four of those wins.
Earls Rock’s win gives trainer Phil D’Amato a deep team for the Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile on turf on March 4. D’Amato is planning to start the three-time stakes winner Hong Kong Harry in the $500,000 Kilroe Mile, the track’s leading grass race of the winter.
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