A third-place finish in the prep race apparently put Anglophile into top form for the main event as the son of English Channel bravely used an inside move to rally in the stretch to win the $998,000 National Thoroughbred League Dueling Grounds Derby (G3T) Sept. 3 at Kentucky Downs.
With Declan Cannon showing the way, Anglophile found room inside to forge past Battle of Normandy in the stretch and then held off a late try from odds-on favorite Far Bridge to post a half-length victory. Bred in Kentucky by Upson Downs Farm and Louie Wright, Anglophile is campaigned by LFG Racing and trained by Brian Lynch.
The winning effort Sunday followed a third-place finish in the Kentucky Downs Preview Dueling Grounds Derby Aug. 5 at Ellis Park, a race Cannon said he may have cost Anglophile a better finish. On Sunday Cannon was all smiles though, celebrating his first win in a race offering a purse of about seven figures.
“It will probably take a day or two to sink in,” Cannon said. “I’ve never seen those kinds of numbers in front of my name in a card before.”
Lynch said Anglophile, who completed Sunday’s 1 5/16-mile test in 2:08.93 on firm turf, is small in stature but packs a lot of talent into that frame.
“Everybody just loves this little horse. He just continues to get better and better,” Lynch said. “We’re just thrilled to have him in the barn. I think the sky’s the limit for this little guy, especially for these marathon distances. So we’ll just let the dust settle here and we’ll look for bigger and better things down the road.”
A race earlier Freydis the Red set a course record for 1 5/16 miles at Kentucky Downs when she knocked down the first stakes win of her career by rallying from seventh place early to post a 2 3/4-length victory under B.J. Hernandez in the $1 million Dueling Grounds Oaks.
Freydis the Red, a French-bred daughter of Saxon Warrior, finished the 1 5/16-mile test in 2:06.13.
In her previous race, Walking L Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm’s Freydis the Red earned a placing in her first graded stakes when she finished third in the Pucker Up Stakes (G3T) at Ellis Park. Trainer Ken McPeek said she ran a winning race that day.
“I wasn’t surprised a bit. I think her last race, we probably woulda, coulda, shoulda won it,” McPeek said. “We felt the added distance in this one would benefit her. She is the consummate professional.”
Freydis the Red was followed home by Sabalenka in second and Flashy Gem in third.
Closing out the day, a $378,666 ($500,000 available) handicap conducted in association with the National Thoroughbred League saw New York-bred Saratoga Flash lead at every point of call under Edgard Zayas on his way to a 2 3/4-length victory in the one mile test.
Campaigned by Dailey Double Racing and trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., the stakes-placed son of Laoban earned the most lucrative payday ($176,700) of his career.
Video: National Thoroughbred League Dueling Grounds Derby (G3T)
Video: Dueling Grounds Oaks (BT)
