Salahudin improves to 3 for 3 with Iroquois Stakes triumph
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Jose Ortiz rode Salahudin like much the best horse in the Iroquois Stakes, mainly because he was.
Ortiz kept Salahudin four paths from the fence and out of trouble, sacrificing ground loss for a clean trip, as Salahudin ran his record to 3 for 3 landing the Grade 3, $300,000 Iroquois on Saturday at Churchill Downs.
Salahudin might have lost focus a bit after making the lead past the furlong grounds, allowing runner-up He Is No Lie to stay within half a length of him at the finish. Caribbean Life finished third, 2 3/4 lengths out of second, and was followed by Real Goodbar and Real Gone.
The Iroquois is the first stop on Churchill Downs’ Road to the Kentucky Derby, and the top five finishers earned, respectively, 10, 5, 3, 2 and 1 qualifying points toward the 2027 Derby.
Ortiz wasn’t named to ride Salahudin, but picked up the mount after Florent Geroux, aboard for the colt’s first two starts, was injured in a Thursday spill. Geroux remained hospitalized in stable condition on Saturday.
“We were thinking about Florent today,” Ortiz said.
Salahudin, a large, lumbering colt with a thundering stride, broke slowly and was sixth of seven, though only a few lengths behind, as He Is No Lie pestered Bearamour through a half-mile in a moderate 46.35. Salahudin closed ground into the turn and Ortiz let him sidle up outside the two pacesetters and Real Goodbar, but Salahudin always was going best, even while giving up so much ground.
Salahudin won his debut over 6 1/2 furlongs before capturing the seven-furlong Ellis Park Juvenile on Aug. 9.
“It’s been a perfect progression so far to get his career started,” said Bob Baffert, who trains Salahudin for Amr Zedan’s Zedan Racing, and who won three stakes Saturday. “He’s continued to mature each start.”
Salahudin got his mile in 1:36.54 and paid $3.98. Bred by the Newstead Corp, Salahudin is by Uncle Mo out of Weekend Strike, by Smart Strike, and has the pedigree and physical profile to keep improving in longer races.
He was not, however, the fastest 2-year-old to race Saturday at Churchill, a distinction that belongs to Coach Pope, a second-time starter who won the fifth race, a maiden mile, by 13 1/2 lengths. Coach Pope, by Tapit, ran one mile in 1:35.77 and further validated the strength of his debut Aug. 8 at Saratoga, where he finished second, beaten a half-length by Gaudreau, who has yet to run back, and a neck ahead of U. S. S. Valor, who returned with a blowout Saratoga maiden win that yielded a massive 105 Beyer Speed Figure.
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