West Will Power takes Fayette field wire to wire
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Brad Cox hopes the momentum he built on closing day of the Keeneland meet carries over to the Breeders’ Cup next weekend. Cox earned the fall-meet training title at Keeneland when West Will Power dominated every single step of the Grade 2, $350,000 Fayette Stakes, the closing-day feature Saturday.
“This was great,” said Cox. “Keeneland is a very special place for me and my team.”
With Joel Rosario riding, West Will Power broke swiftly from the inside post in a field of five older horses and proceeded to prevail by 6 3/4 lengths. A second Cox trainee, Fulsome, was along to get second by three-quarters of a length from Last Samurai, with King Fury fourth and First Captain fifth. Chess Chief was an early scratch.
West Will Power, bred and owned by Gary and Mary West, returned $4.74 as second choice after finishing the 1 1/8-mile distance in 1:50.68 over a fast track. This was the first stakes win from 15 career starts for a 5-year-old Bernardini horse whose prior start resulted in a front-running allowance romp in late September at Churchill Downs.
West Will Power “likes being on the front end,” said Cox, who in 2020 won a record-tying four Breeders’ Cup races on the two-day program at Keeneland to clinch his first of two straight Eclipse Awards as outstanding trainer. “We had to back up on him last fall because he had a couple of minor issues, but the owners were patient, and patience pays off in this game.”
Cox wound up winning the training title when the Wesley Ward pair of Illegal Smile and Spicy Marg, the top two favorites, were defeated in the final race Saturday. Cox finished with 11 winners, one more than Ward and Todd Pletcher.
Luis Saez, by winning the last race on 26-1 shot Miner’s Queen, edged Tyler Gaffalione by a 21-20 count to be the meet’s leading jockey.
On a mostly cloudy and mild afternoon, West Will Power quickly asserted himself in the 65th Fayette, opening daylight into the first turn and never being seriously threatened thereafter. King Fury and Last Samurai were asked by their respective riders to keep within striking distance, but to no avail.
West Will Power “was very comfortable” after making a solo lead, Rosario said afterward. “Man, turning for home, he just kept going forward.”
The winning effort from West Will Power logically sets him up for the Grade 1 Clark, to be run Nov. 25 at Churchill, Cox’s primary base.
First Captain, the slight 6-5 favorite, clearly was the disappointment of the Fayette, never entering contention. Winner of the Pimlico Special in May, the 4-year-old colt was virtually eased in the final 100 yards by Luis Saez.
Cox, who won the Fayette in 2018 with Leofric, now has won or tied for four meet titles at Keeneland.
Cox has a number of hopefuls for the Breeders’ Cup here next weekend, including Chop Chop, Verifying, and Cyberknife.
The $2 exacta (1-3) paid $15.48 and the $1 trifecta (1-3-6) returned $35.46.
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