Trikari ($96.34) surges in final strides, edges Formidable Man in American Turf

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - On paper, the Grade 2, $600,000 American Turf for 3-year-olds on Saturday at Churchill Downs looked like a wide-open affair. It played out that way in actuality, with Trikari, overlooked in a deep group despite being a stakes winner, surging clear late for an upset score that returned $96.34 to his backers.

Trikari, who is trained by Graham Motion for Amerman Racing, was 12th in his debut, but since then has won three of his last four outings. The Oscar Performance colt came in to Saturday's race off a neck victory in the Rushaway Stakes on March 23 on the Tapeta at Turfway Park.

"It was a really special performance from a very nice and improving colt," Motion said of Trikari's second career stakes win. "He ran a great race."

Trikari took advantage of an inside draw - he wound up breaking from post 1 in the full field after the scratch of Twirling Point - and saved ground all the way under Umberto Rispoli. The duo was fifth, a little more than 2 1/2 lengths back, through the opening half in 48.15 seconds as Formidable Man led well-held favorite Legend of Time, with Abrumar pressing on the latter's outside.

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Legend of Time moved to engage Formidable Man around the turn and into the stretch as Rispoli patiently waited in the pocket. Once the field was straightened away, he tipped his colt out and unleashed him. Formidable Man turned back Legend of Time, but Trikari collared him nearing the sixteenth pole and surged clear in the final yards to win by 1 1/2 lengths.

Formidable Man held second, a half-length best of Lagynos.

"He never stopped and kept going," Luis Saez, aboard Formidable Man, said. "He never gave up."

After Lagynos, it was 1 1/2 lengths to Cugino in fourth. He was followed, in order, by a fading Legend of Time, second choice Agate Road, who was never involved, Neat, Noted, Can Group, Abrumar, Blue Eyed George, Set, Lord Bullingdon, and Stay Hot.

The final time for the 1 1/16 miles on a drying-out turf course officially rated good after rain on Friday was 1:43.59.

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