In Our Time takes Giant's Causeway, caps big weekend for jockey Prat
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In Our Time won the Giant’s Causeway Stakes on Sunday, up in plenty of time under jockey Flavien Prat, who is having quite the time this week at Keeneland.
On Friday, Prat guided Zulu Kingdom to a wire-to-wire victory in the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile. On Saturday, he rode Segesta in the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley, earning a dead heat with Expensive Queen for first.
The Grade 2, $400,000 Giant’s Causeway, a turf sprint for older fillies and mares, proved nowhere near as competitive a contest.
In Our Time ($12.88) broke on top but held a lead for less than a half-furlong as Shining Star, the 9-5 favorite, came up to take control. That left Prat in – an even better position.
“She jumped so well and showed a lot of speed out of there, but then I was able to rate so nicely behind the speed,” Prat said.
Shining Star, facing no pressure, went a quarter-mile in 21.72, maintaining her lead around the far turn, but even just past the quarter pole, drifting out, she looked spent, nothing like the mare who had aired in three turf sprints coming into Sunday’s race. When Shining Star came off the rail, Prat and In Our Time came up it. The pair took a lead of two lengths to the stretch call and never came close to being threatened, coasting to a 1 3/4-length score.
Creed’s Gold, who pulled a favorable outside stalking trip, finished about as well as In Our Time without gaining much on her through the final furlong. She had 1 1/2 lengths on third-place Movin’ On Up, who made a belated bid to earn the show.
Saffie Joseph trains both In Our Time and Movin' On Up, and In Our Time campaigns for Resolute Racing and Miller Racing. The 5-year-old mare, bred in Kentucky by Brian Kahn, is by Not This Time out of Laura’s Pleasure, by Cactus Ridge. In Our Time won for the fifth time in 17 starts, up in ample time to capture her first graded stakes race.
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