Glengarry takes them all the way in the Lafayette

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The only one better than the Ohio-bred on Friday at Keeneland was the Iowa-bred, as Glengarry went wire to wire in the $400,000 Lafayette Stakes, with Who Dey a late-running second.

Iowa-bred Glengarry, expertly prepared by trainer Doug Anderson for his first start since Dec. 15, won for the fourth time in five races and is unbeaten in four sprints. Glengarry added the seven-furlong Lafayette, a 3-year-old race, to his front-running tally here last October in the Bowman Mill. His lone loss came Dec. 15 in the Springboard Mile, where he was second in his only two-turn try.

“He tried his butt off there, just didn’t look like he wanted to go that extra distance,” said Anderson, who owns Glengarry with Aaron Kennedy and Toby Joseph. “Maybe down the road he might, but right now we’re going to keep him going short.”

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Who Dey, racing for the first time since Nov. 25, lost for the first time after going 4 for 4 at age 2, but lost little in defeat. About a furlong into the Lafayette, jockey John McKee wrangled Who Dey off the pace after the Ohio-bred colt tried to chase Glengarry’s speed. Who Dey, diving toward the inside in midstretch, rallied gamely over a surface favoring front-runners to nab second by one length over 50-1 chance Frosty Indulgence.

“We were jumping into the deep end of the pool today,” said Tom Drury, who trains Who Dey. “We decided to give him a little break over the winter, and we worked backward from this race. He ran huge. I’m excited.”

The Chris Davis-trained Frosty Indulgence also performed well while making just his second start following a maiden win on the Tapeta surface at Turfway Park.

Doncho, who was fourth, a length behind Frosty Indulgence at odds of 3-2, and 6-5 favorite Booth, a fading fifth, were the disappointments. Doncho chased the pace but had no late punch making his stakes debut after two sharp Fair Grounds wins. Booth rated off the lead and tried for an outside run but spun his wheels. Chasing or stalking the pace several paths off the fence looked like the kiss of death Friday on the Keeneland dirt,

Glengarry ($13.56) broke like a rocket under Luis Saez, putting the fast Doncho into a tough inside spot. Saez said he had the option to sit off Doncho, but Glengarry, while setting quick, wind-aided splits of 22.28 and 44.98 seconds, was doing it easily. He opened a 2 1/2-length lead at the stretch call and had increased it to 3 1/2 lengths at the wire, stopping the timer in 1:22.91 for seven furlongs over a fast track.

Anderson earlier in the week said he figured Glengarry was ready to roll when he outworked a good Iowa-bred older horse named Our Last Chance a couple weeks ago.

“He’s done everything right leading up to this. He’ll train hard when you want him to,” Anderson said.

Glengarry, named for the David Mamet play Glengarry Glen Ross later made into a movie, is an Iowa-bred in name only, a gray colt by Maximus Mischief out of L.A. Way, by Tizway. He was bred by Highpoint Bloodstock and purchased by Kennedy at a 2-year-old auction last May for $150,000.

Iowa-bred competition is not in his near future. Glengarry returns to Anderson’s base at Oaklawn Park and will be considered for the Pat Day Mile at Churchill or the Chick Lang Stakes over six furlongs at Pimlico. He’s a fast, willing horse, dangerous wherever he shows up.

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