Fionn goes last to first, sets record in Regret Stakes victory
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Fionn, who has never missed the board, added a graded stakes victory to her resume in style with a last-to-first score by a half-length in the Grade 3, $275,000 Regret Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on the turf Saturday evening at Churchill Downs, setting a stakes record in the process.
The mild upsets by tepid second choice Fionn ($10.08) in the final race on the card, and, earlier, the improving World Beater ($15.40) in the brother race, the $275,000 Audubon for turf 3-year-olds, helped create a $386,887 Pick 6 jackpot carryover into Sunday's card at Churchill Downs.
Fionn, trained by Brad Cox, has emerged as a consistent runner in the 3-year-old turf filly division. After running second on debut last September, the filly reeled off three straight wins, culminating with the Allen Black Cat LaCombe Memorial at Fair Grounds.
In her graded stakes debut, the Grade 2 Appalachian last month at Keeneland, Fionn was making up ground later, but her late rally landed her in third, 3 1/2 lengths back of divisional leader Nitrogen.
“She’s been a really consistent filly and I think she will keep improving off of this,” Cox said.
In a wide-open Regret - made even more so by the regulatory vet scratch Saturday morning of Lush Lips, who would have been among the favorites - Fionn was sent away the second choice, but a tepid one. Post-time favorite Classic Q, making her graded stakes debut, was keen under a long hold as she took the field through the opening three-quarters in 1:11.08 on a turf course officially rated firm. Totally Justified was intently tracking her in second; Fionn was last of the nine at that point, with nearly seven lengths covering the field.
Totally Justified put away a fading Classic Q turning for home and looked to open up on the field, but Fionn spun six wide into the stretch under Florent Geroux and unleashed a furious rally to run down her opponent.
“They were going fast up front, so I just let her get into a nice rhythm and do her thing,” Geroux said. “She kept finding more late and really dug in.”
It was another length back to Hereforagoodtime in third. The time for the 1 1/8 miles was 1:47.29. That time narrowly eclipsed the Regret Stakes record of 1:47.31 set by Lady of Venice in 2006.
That time was also half a tick faster than the colts ran earlier on the card in the Audubon, as World Beater edged King of Ashes by a neck for the victory in his stakes debut. He finished the 1 1/8 miles, a distance he clearly relishes, in 1:47.39.
World Beater, who made his two starts as a juvenile on the dirt, showed an immediate uptick in form when switched to turf to start this season by Riley Mott, and steadily improved with added distance. His breakthrough maiden win, rallying by a length in his fifth career start, came May 2 at Churchill Downs, at the 1 1/8-mile distance of the Audubon.
“He was impressive stretching out more in distance when he broke his maiden last time,” jockey Jaime Torres said. “I think that definitely helped him.”
World Beater needed all of that ground to work with Saturday - and Torres saved as much ground as he could. The colt began to advance along the inside entering the far turn, then split horses to continue advancing as pressured pacesetter Charlie's to Blame began retreating along the inside. King of Ashes assumed the lead into the stretch from the pacepressing Tomasello and appeared to be home free, but World Beater finally swung around horses for his final run, and nailed him at the line.
Tomasello held third, another 2 1/4 lengths back.
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