Mountaineer: Good Lord makes road trip a success by taking Mountaineer Mile

Trainer Forrest Kaelin made a good call by opting to travel to West Virginia rather than stay at home in Kentucky.

Kaelin scratched his 5-year-old Good Lord from Friday’s Grade 3, $100,000 Ack Ack at Churchill Downs in order to shoot for a $130,000 purse in Saturday night’s Mountaineer Mile at Mountaineer Racetrack. Good Lord ($5) justified the decision by drawing clear from pacesetter Mega Rush in deep stretch to win by 3 3/4 lengths.

Mega Rush, a locally based sprinter who had primarily been competing in $5,000 starter allowance events, shot out to a five-length lead through a half-mile in 47.58 seconds. Good Lord, ridden by Gabriel Saez, challenged Mega Rush at the quarter pole and the two raced as a team into the top of the stretch. Good Lord kicked clear in deep stretch, completing the mile over a track that was sealed and rated good in 1:39.59.

Mega Rush held onto second by a neck over late closing It Happened Again, the 5-2 second choice in a field of nine.

Good Lord, a son of Greatness owned by Thomas Shank and Stan Young, is now 8 for 44 lifetime, including four stakes wins in his last five starts. In a display of versatility, Good Lord has won a pair of sprint stakes at Charles Town and Ellis Park, plus the Kentucky Cup Turf Dash at Kentucky Downs during his recent hot streak.