Minaret Station Delivers at 38-1 in Bourbon Stakes

Minaret Station wrapped up the first weekend of the Keeneland fall meet by delivering a victory at a mouth-watering price in the $350,000 Bourbon Stakes (G2T) Oct. 6. Rallying from the back of the pack, the colt rallied by the field late and kept on running to win by 1 1/2 lengths at 38-1 odds. The win in the Bourbon, a Breeders' Cup Challenge Win and You're In event, earns the improving son of Instilled Regard a fees-paid starting slot in the Nov. 1 $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T). Only a maiden winner at Horseshoe Indianapolis prior to the Bourbon, Minaret Station gave his connections something to consider with his stirring stretch run. "(Jockey) Cristian (Torres) navigated it beautifully and the horse exploded. He got it done," said Will Walden, who netted his first Keeneland stakes win as a trainer. Minaret Station runs for the colors of his breeder, OXO Equine. The operation raced the colt's sire, Instilled Regard, to victories in the Manhattan Stakes (G1T), Fort Marcy Stakes (G2T), and Lecomte Stakes (G3). Minaret Station is the first graded stakes winner for the freshman stallion who stands at Taylor Made Stallions in Kentucky. OXO Equine had acquired Minaret Station's dam, the grade 2-winning turf mare Beau Recall (by Sir Prancealot (IRE)), for $350,000 at the 2020 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Minaret Station and Torres raced well off the pace set by recent Kentucky Downs maiden winner Clock Tower, who held a one-length advantage through early splits of :22.29, :47.02, and 1:11.79. Turning for home Golden Afternoon, second behind Clock Tower for most of the 1 1/16-mile journey, launched a bold bid at the pacesetter as Minaret Station began weaving his way past rivals with a quarter-mile to run. Angled out in deep stretch, Minaret Station kicked clear with an eye-catching turn of foot, hitting the wire in a final time of 1:42.28 on the firm turf course. The colt's backers were rewarded with a $78.88 payout for a $2 win wager. "At the quarter pole when I tapped him on the shoulder to pick it up, he picked it up very nice," said Torres. "I give a lot of credit to the horse. He was very professional today compared to his first two races, (when he was third at Ellis Park Aug. 5 and first at Horseshoe Indianapolis Sept. 6 in maiden special weight races). (Trainer) Will Walden did an unbelievable job with him." Golden Afternoon and Clock Tower completed the trifecta. Favored Giacoso was sixth. Governor Sam Streaks to Third Straight Stakes Score in Indian Summer The speedy Governor Sam passed his biggest test yet in the $250,000 Indian Summer Stakes, rolling to his third straight-black type victory for trainer George Weaver. A 2-year-old son of Improbable, the colt has done little wrong in the turf sprint game since finishing sixth in his Gulfstream Park debut. Owned in partnership by Bregman Family Racing and Swinbank Stables, Governor Sam has notched frontrunning scores in his past four starts, highlighted by tallies in the Tyro and Rosie's stakes. Breaking on top in the field of 12 juveniles, Governor Sam laid down testing fractions early and prevailed by a neck in a final time of 1:02.72 for the 5 1/2 furlongs. The post-time favorite, he returned $5.48 for a $2 win ticket. Out on Bail, closing from the back of the pack, secured second over Floodlites in third. Winning jockey Paco Lopez registered his 4,000th career victory in the Indian Summer. The Mexico native has claimed 11 leading rider titles at Monmouth Park in New Jersey. "When you work hard, then coming to America and having the opportunity to ride here, I feel great to have that opportunity every day. Now I'll try for 5,000," Lopez said in the Keeneland winner's circle.