Protonico digs deep late for narrow Alysheba win

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A game Protonico, passed midstretch by longshot Noble Bird, came back in the final yards to win the Grade 2, $400,000 Alysheba Stakes by a head as favored Honor Code labored home fifth, never in contention.

Protonico is versatile, having won from on and off the pace, and is game, as he showed in his battling win Friday at Churchill Downs, but he also has the habit, trainer Todd Pletcher said, of idling once he makes the lead late in a race, which is exactly what happened in the Alysheba.

Sitting second behind the mild pace set by no-hoper Den’s Legacy, Protonico and jockey John Velazquez edged into true contention before the far turn while racing two paths off the rail, Noble Bird and Shaun Bridgmohan latched on and being pulled along three wide. Pletcher had cautioned Velazquez, riding Protonico for the first time, about the colt’s tendency to wait, and Velazquez was ready for it, but apparently there was little he could do as, having easily disposed of Den’s Legacy, Protonico waited for Noble Bird to draw abreast.

“He didn’t start running again until the other horse was in front,” said Velazquez. “He got a good neck on me.”

But once passed, Protonico dug back in. He probably is a more talented horse than Noble Bird, and in the final 50 yards or so he asserted his superiority, surging back along the inside to a narrow victory.

The winner was timed in 1:42.34 for 1 1/16 miles on a fast main track, and paid $4.80 to win. Neck ’n Neck finished third while no match for the top two.

Meanwhile, Honor Code, winner in four of his six previous starts and second in his losses, ran off the board for the first time in his career. And it was never close. A distant last onto the backstretch, Honor Code was being urged to keep up by Javier Castellano with six furlong still to run, and he never got close.

“Javier felt like he really struggled with the surface,” said trainer Shug McGaughey. “He was bobbling and struggling with it right from the start. I don’t think he handled the track like we hoped he would.”

Hard to say what the future holds for Honor Code, but Protonico will head back to New York next week with a return trip to Churchill for the Grade 1 Stephen Foster on his agenda. The 4-year-old son of Giant’s Causeway won for the sixth time in 11 races and captured his second straight graded stakes, having won the Ben Ali just 20 days ago at Keeneland. That is a fairly sharp turnaround by Pletcher’s standards, and Protonico, who didn’t really find his stride until late last year, might well have room to improve next time.