Flanagan Racing Grey a work being trained by trainer Chad Brown, put all the pieces together in time for a surprise win in the $200,000 Lake Placid Stakes (G2T) on August 17 at Saratoga Race Track.
3 year old child Yoshida The “cheaply bought” mare, according to owner Sean Flanagan, beat heavyweight 3-4 and was a Grade 1 winner She feels beautiful by a neck in a dramatic duel to the finish line. Grayosh, unaware of his price, handed Flanagan his first win as an owner.
“I don’t even know what to say because I wasn’t prepared for anything,” Flanagan said after the race. “I’m so excited. To do this with a horse that I paid the least for. I mean it can happen, look at Thorpedo Anna.”
Bred in Kentucky by Susan Bedwell and out of the mare Paddy O’ Prado Rosie O’Prado Grayosh has been entered into the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Horse Auction and has caught the eye of Flanagan’s friend, thoroughbred dealer Jeff Macker.
“I really like the Yoshida stallion, he can run on this stuff (grass), dirt, highways, and he’s a horse I really like to bet on. So I said (to Macker) let’s do it,” Flanagan said. A bid of $25,000 got me the mare from Taylor Made Sales Agency’s consignment.
Brown said Grayosh impressed him during winter training at Payson Park in South Florida, which may explain the coach’s ambitious campaign for her after she broke his record.
“If you look at her form, I was a little bit over the top at the start of her career (because) I was thinking too much about her, and then it just didn’t work out… She was a little unlucky. She had a bad fall if you will at Gulfstream that day (in her second start on March 3 at Gulfstream Park) and was really close to being shut down for a while. She’s a strong mare and came back after that.”
Broke his career in his third start at Gulfstream ParkGrayosh is the fourth person to be equal to the Brown student stock company. Segesta before being eliminated from the photo in the handicap race on July 18 at Spa.
Everything will be fine with Grayosh this time.
Riders Flavien Prat and Grayosh raced from the attack, never getting too far off the pace after a moderate early pace of :24.22, :49.67 and 1:14.30. On the far turn, She Feels Pretty launched a threatening three-way move to take her from fourth and into the lead. Ori at the top of the line. As Ori began to tire, drifting into the eighth post, Prat attacked Grayosh, who moved away from the fence and split the horse with an eye-catching leg turn to take control in the stretch. Grayosh held off a She Feels Pretty ride to the finish line in a final time of 1:43.74.
She Feels Pretty went half a horse ahead fiercely. Dynamic price Another Brown intern, came in third.
Grayosh also became the first winner of the tournament for the Yoshida stallion. Originally retired to WinStar Farm, Yoshida entered the 2024 season at Darley Japan for a fee of 1.5 million yen.
“Grayosh showed a lot of enthusiasm there to go out and really get a good horse over,” Brown said. “She’s on track now.”
On track to qualify for the $750,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge (G1T) on October 12 at Keenelandwhere Grayosh could once again silence Flanagan if she gets her first grade points.
Video: Lake Placid S. Presented by Caesars Sportsbook (G2T)
