Warrior's Club surprises with Commonwealth win

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Both horse and owners took Keeneland by storm Saturday when Warrior’s Club, owned by the exuberant members of the Churchill Downs Racing Club, scored the first graded victory of his career with an upset in the Grade 3, $250,000 Commonwealth on the Blue Grass undercard at Keeneland.

The triumph set off a jubilant celebration from the group’s many owners, all of whom own a small percentage of the horse, as they marched their way to the post-race trophy presentation. Bettors who supported the winner also had a right to be jubilant, with the colt going off at 23-1 odds following a sixth-place finish in the Feb. 8 Hot Spring Stakes at Oaklawn in his last start.

Warrior’s Club never ran Saturday like he warranted large odds. He was rated in third by Luis Contreras, stalking pacesetter Westwood as that one set splits of 22.40 seconds and 45.15 in the seven-furlong Commonwealth. Warrior's Club then outfinished a couple of stretch-charging rivals.

He hit the wire a neck in front of 8-5 favorite Limousine Liberal, with 16-1 Awesome Saturday another neck behind in third.

“The name describes him about as well as anything,” winning trainer D. Wayne Lukas said. “He’s a warrior."

A 4-year-old son of Warrior’s Reward, he raced seven furlongs in 1:22.61 over a fast Keeneland track that was upgraded a couple times over the course of the chilly afternoon. He notched his second stakes victory in winning the Commonwealth after taking the restricted Spendthrift Stallion Stakes at Churchill Downs as a 2-year-old in 2016. He paid $48.80.

Lukas credited the horse following the race, saying he is regularly eager to train and race. “A used-car salesman could train him,” he quipped.

Limousine Liberal, making his first start of the year, ran in spurts in defeat. He advanced into contention from midpack on the backstretch and turn, then seemed to idle off horses in early stretch before finding his stride again in the closing sixteenth. He outgamed Awesome Saturday for the place, and surpassed the $1 million earnings mark with his runner-up finish.

The top finishers seem logical candidates to meet again on Kentucky Derby Day on May 5 in the Grade 2 Churchill Downs, a seven-furlong race Limousine Liberal won in 2017.