LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Lukas Classic is supposed to be the highlight of the September meet at Churchill Downs – and boy, was it ever. Hot Rod Charlie and Rich Strike really put on a show Saturday in the Grade 2 race, battling fiercely to the wire in an instant classic. The 4-year-old Hot Rod Charlie edged the 3-year-old Rich Strike by maybe 10 inches, with camps for both horses elated with the outcome. Rich Strike not only continued to demonstrate that his 80-1 stunner in the Kentucky Derby was no fluke, but he might have even had a legitimate excuse for not emerging triumphant in the $498,000 Lukas Classic, his third race since the May 7 Derby. Trainer Eric Reed said jockey Sonny Leon informed him that his saddle slipped with about 70 yards to go, throwing him off balance and perhaps costing him the victory. The head-on replay and photographs from various sources appear to confirm Leon’s account. As the two horses neared the wire in tandem, Leon abruptly leaned over in an awkward manner to his left, causing him to make continuous inadvertent contact with Hot Rod Charlie and jockey Tyler Gaffalione. Just past the wire, Gaffalione appeared to say something to Leon to the effect of, “What was that all about?” :: DRF Bets members get FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic. Join now! “Sonny was pretty upset about it,” Reed said. “It’s unfortunate, and it might well have cost us the win.” Overall, however, Reed couldn’t have been much happier with the effort put forth by Rich Strike, the Keen Ice colt owned by the RED TR-Racing of Rick Dawson. “He showed me what I’ve always known he could do,” Reed said. “He has the turn of foot that not many people give him credit for. He took another big step forward. He’s a top horse, no doubt in my mind.” Reed said he will wait until Rich Strike returns to training later this week at his Mercury training center on the outskirts of Lexington before deciding whether to forge ahead to the Nov. 5 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland. The alternative would be to wait for the Nov. 25 Clark at Churchill. Meanwhile, it’s full speed ahead to the BC Classic for Hot Rod Charlie, who earned a 101 Beyer Speed Figure for winning the 1 1/8-mile Lukas in 1:49.77 over a fast track. The 4-year-old Oxbow colt, now an earner of more than $5.5 million for the four-way partnership that owns him, figures among the top few wagering choices in the 1 1/4-mile BC Classic behind heavily favored Flightline. “It was a great race, just incredible efforts from both horses,” O’Neill said. Hot Rod Charlie returned Saturday night to Keeneland, where the colt has been stabled the last three months despite the fact O’Neill is based in Southern California. O’Neill has a fondness for Keeneland and has used it as a long-term training site for some of his better horses in prior years, most notably 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist. Clearly the disappointments of the Lukas Classic were Art Collector, who faded to fifth after setting the pace to the top of the stretch, and Happy Saver, who settled for fourth behind King Fury after having dead aim at the quarter-pole. ‘Senor’ off to Keeneland Senor Buscador was scheduled to be vanned to Keeneland either Sunday or Monday to prepare for the Nov. 5 BC Dirt Mile, for which the 4-year-old colt earned an expenses-paid berth by virtue of his 1 1/4-length victory in the Grade 3 Ack Ack, which directly preceded the Lukas Classic on an 11-race card. Trainer Todd Fincher was ecstatic to see Senor Buscador realize his potential with a win that graded out to a 98 Beyer, just shy of the career-best 99 the Mineshaft colt earned when third in the Pat O’Brien at Del Mar in his prior start. “This is how good he is,” Fincher said. Fincher, based in New Mexico, has a second hopeful for the 2022 Breeders’ Cup in Slammed, who runs Saturday at Keeneland in the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America, a Win and You’re In toward the BC Filly and Mare Sprint. Injunction, second in the Ack Ack, probably will wait for the 1 1/8-mile Clark, trainer Carlo Vaccarezza said early Sunday. As for the Ack Ack also-rans, Speaker’s Corner, the 7-5 favorite, seemed to eliminate himself from consideration for the BC Dirt Mile with his seventh-place finish. Also faring poorly were the other two favorites, Fulsome (fifth) and Untreated (eighth). :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.