Twilight Eclipse finally scores Grade 1 win in Man o' War

ELMONT, N.Y. – Ten times previously, Twilight Eclipse participated in a Grade 1 race, and 10 times previously, he was defeated. Some of the losses were excruciating. There was a neck loss to Main Sequence in the United Nations at Monmouth last July followed two starts later by a neck loss to Main Sequence in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational at Belmont Park.

In Saturday’s Grade 1, $400,000 Man o’ War at cloudy and damp Belmont Park, Twilight Eclipse, under Javier Castellano, had chased from second the pace-setting War Dancer all the way around the inner turf course. In upper stretch, with defending Man o’ War winner Imagining not firing, it was evident the race was going to be between Twilight Eclipse and War Dancer, a multiple graded stakes winner making his second start for the Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. War Dancer, under Jose Lezcano, had gotten away with some relatively easy fractions – a half-mile in 50.62 seconds and a mile in 1:39.49 – and he was emboldened by the challenge of Twilight Eclipse to his outside.

But Javier Castellano, conserving as best he could Twilight Eclipse’s short burst of acceleration, was able to corral War Dancer late, and Twilight Eclipse finally got his Grade 1 by a neck – of course – over War Dancer in the $400,000 Man o’ War. It was three lengths back to Hyper in third. He was followed in order by Dynamic Sky, Imagining, and Hardest Core. Comes the Dream scratched.

“Gratifying” was the word trainer Tom Albertrani used to describe the victory, even if Twilight Eclipse is a gelding. Twilight Eclipse, a 6-year-old by Purim, is owned by the West Point Thoroughbreds partnership.

“A Grade 1 is a Grade 1 no matter how you look at them – colts or geldings – it’s good for the resume for everybody to get that Grade 1,” Albertrani said. “For the whole partnership, it’s great for them. We’ve been trying to get this horse to win one of these for a couple of years, and he finally broke through today.”

It was the seventh win from 24 starts for Twilight Eclipse, who is the course record holder for 1 1/2 miles at Gulfstream Park. He now has earned more than $1.5 million.

“He’s just so consistent – every race he’s one-two-three against the best horses in the country,” Albertarni said. “He looks like he’ll run all day. He never seems to get tired. You couldn’t have a better horse to have in the barn.”

Though Albertrani said he had wished Castellano would have gone after War Dancer earlier, Castellano said, “If I move too soon, he’s going to hang. If I wait too long, I’m not going to get there. Just the right time, right place, and he made a beautiful move.”

It was one of four wins on the card for Castellano, including the Grade 2 Peter Pan on Madefromlucky, who is likely Belmont Stakes bound.

Twilight Eclipse covered the 1 3/8 miles over firm turf in 2:14.44 and returned $5.90 as the second choice.

Imagining, coming off a three-quarter-length victory over Twilight Eclipse in the Pan American at Gulfstream and who was 5 for 10 over this turf course, never fired, finishing about seven lengths behind Twilight Eclipse while beating just one horse, Hardest Core.

“Slow pace, I was stuck on the inside. Everybody knows he doesn’t like to be on the inside of horses,” jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. said. “I tried to get out of there, but I can’t.”