Miles Ahead, who hasn't won a race in 2023 despite finishing second or third in all of his starts, tries to get the "W" Nov. 23 in the Thanksgiving Classic Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
The Competitive Edge gelding is the most experienced runner in the field of nine with 31 starts, but hasn't seen the winner's circle since the 2022 Louisville Thoroughbred Society Stakes, a span of six starts.
Paul McGee's trainee is 12-7-3 lifetime with $812,313 in earnings. This year, he is 0-3-2 from five starts with $165,810 in the bank. Miles Ahead's eight wins at six furlongs more than double those of his closest competitors—Swift as I Am and Kavod (both of whom are winless this year)—who each have three wins at the distance.
What the Trainer Thinks
McGee: "I thought he ran really good in the Bet On Sunshine. He was fresh off a little bit of a layoff, and he came out of it doing really well, so I figured we could wheel him back three weeks later in this race. I feel like he's on top of his game. That horse always runs—he's a hard-trying horse."
NOTABLE
- Swift as I Am is making just his second start in a year. He made his 2023 debut Sept. 22 in a starter allowance at Los Alamitos Race Course, finishing fourth.
- Four of the entries have run in graded company this year: Miles Ahead, Cowan, Super Ocho, and Kavod.
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, Thursday, November 23, 2023, Race 9Entries: Thanksgiving Classic S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Chasing Time (KY) Jaime A. Torres 118 Steven M. Asmussen 9/2 2 2Machine Gun Man (KY) C.J. McMahon 116 Juan C. Sanchez 10/1 3 3Swift as I Am (CA) Jareth Loveberry 118 Tanner Tracy 20/1 4 4Cowan (KY) Deshawn L. Parker 118 Raymond E. Ginter, Jr. 8/1 5 5Minnesota Ready (KY) Corey J. Lanerie 118 Neil L. Pessin 6/1 6 6Kavod (KY) Mitchell Murrill 118 Chris A. Hartman 8/1 7 7Super Ocho (CHI) Vicente Del-Cid 118 Amador Merei Sanchez 5/1 8 8Gilcrease (KY) Marcelino Pedroza, Jr. 116 Albert M. Stall, Jr. 8/1 9 9Miles Ahead (KY) Joseph Talamo 118 Paul J. McGee 2/1
