Saratoga Derby Invitational: Carson’s Run Surges to Victory at Saratoga
In a thrilling display of late-race heroics, Carson’s Run capitalized on a patient ride to capture the Grade 1, $600,000 Saratoga Derby Invitational on the turf at Saratoga Race Course on Sunday. The chestnut colt by Cupid, owned by West Point Thoroughbreds and Steven Bouchey, rallied from off the pace to overhaul even-money favorite Legend of Time in the stretch, winning by three-quarters of a length.
Trained by Christophe Clement, the 5-1 Carson’s Run was expertly guided by jockey Dylan Davis, registering his first career Grade 1 victory in the U.S. The win marked Clement’s inaugural triumph in the prestigious Saratoga Derby, which was rescheduled from its original date due to inclement weather.
“Great race, very good ride from Dylan,” Clement remarked. “He knows the horse very well, he has been working him many, many times the last two months. When he is right, he has a spectacular turn-of-foot like he showed today.”
The victory earns Carson’s Run an automatic berth into the prestigious Cox Plate (G1) at Moonee Valley Racecourse in Australia on October 26, the second consecutive year the Saratoga Derby has offered the international challenge to its winner.
“To walk out in front of the big screen and to see that rainbow … it was good,” said an emotional Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds, alluding to the fortuitous omen before the race. “We go to the sales and we have the freedom to take shots and to buy horses that other people don’t buy. That’s a beautiful thing.”
The runner-up finisher, Charlie Appleby’s Legend of Time, was seeking his fourth American and third NYRA Grade 1 triumph of the year but had to settle for a hard-fought second, three-quarters of a length clear of third-place Deterministic.
With the victory, Carson’s Run, a $170,000 OBS spring sale purchase, has now earned $719,529 in career earnings and cemented his status as a rising star on the national stage.
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