Something Awesome rewards Corrales with Charles Town Classic

When Something Awesome won the Grade 3 General George at Laurel Park in February, he gave trainer Jose Corrales his first graded win. On Saturday, Something Awesome fought hard to give Corrales his first $1 million victory, edging the hard-trying War Story by a neck in the Charles Town Classic.

The Classic win has been a long time coming for the 58-year-old Corrales, but until recently it also seemed out of reach for Something Awesome, a 7-year-old gelding owned and bred by Frank Stronach.

Something Awesome was sent to Corrales' Laurel Park stable in early October after going winless in his first eight starts of 2017. He finished the year by winning second- and third-level optional-claiming sprint races at Laurel.

Corrales has patiently kept moving Something Awesome up in class while stretching him out in distance. The result is his Saturday victory in the Grade 2 Classic, a 1 1/8-mile race.

A big factor in Something Awesome's improvement has been a switch to dirt from the synthetic Tapeta track at Woodbine, where he had been racing. But that doesn’t explain everything. Corrales and Something Awesome have just clicked together, and Something Awesome is now 5 for 6 under Corrales' care.

"Every time he runs, he proves he can do what I am asking," Corrales said. "I keep adding difficulty to his races a little at a time and he keeps doing it. He was a fighter in the stretch today."

Diversify, the 6-5 favorite who was making his first start since November, set a realistic pace in the Classic under token pressure from Afleet Willy, galloping through fractions of 24.34, 48.48, and 1:13.16. But nearing the far turn, Afleet Willy moved to the front and Diversfy started backing up.

On the turn, War Story and Something Awesome, who was three wide, moved in tandem to challenge for the lead. Coming into the eighth-mile Charles Town stretch, the trio was side by side.

War Story stuck his head in front in the stretch but Something Awesome kept grinding away under jockey Edgar Prado as Afleet Willy began to weaken. At the wire, Something Awesome proved a neck the best.

Fear the Cowboy, who had lagged well back early, finished with a strong late bid to be third, a length behind War Story. It was another neck back to Afleet Willy in fourth. Diversify finished last.

Something Awesome paid $20.60 as the fourth choice in the seven-horse field. He was timed in 1:50.84 following a mile in 1:38.00. The victory was the 6,993rd of Prado's Hall of Fame career.

The win means a lot to Corrales because the Stronachs are his longtime benefactors.

When Corrales, a former jockey, was training in Ohio, Andy Stronach would send him mares to run while he awaited breeding season. He introduced Corrales to his father, Frank.

The Stronachs asked Corrales to relocate to Maryland - where they own Laurel and Pimlico - with a string of their horses in 2011.

Corrales, who now operates a public stable, has always wanted to repay the Stronachs by developing a good horse for them. Something Awesome, a useful runner at best over the years, is that horse.

"Being in this career, which is tough competition, it is a blessing to have the opportunity to train for Frank and Andy Stronach," said Corrales, a native of Panama. "When you get to my age, you don't improve very much. Fortunately, this horse has. He is a blessing."

Corrales said if Something Awesome comes out of the Classic in good shape, he would be pointed to the Grade 3, $300,000 Pimlico Special, a 1 3/16-mile race on May 18.