4.70-1 shot Howe Great turned back the bid of his stablemate Lucky Chappy in the Gulfstream Park homestretch to take the $100,000 Kitten's Joy Stakes by a dominating 2 1/2 lengths.
Ridden by Edgar Prado, Howe Great broke well and went straight to the lead, rattling off fractions of :24.64 and :48.01. In behind him in second sat Cozzetti, followed by Italo, Empire Builder, Lucky Chappy, El Romano, and Scorcher.
Following three-quarters of a mile in 1:11.17, and with just five-sixteenths of a mile remaining, Howe Great still held the lead and was going strongly. Lucky Chappy appeared to be mounting a threatening rally on the outside, but was unable to keep up with the blazing final fractions turned in by Howe Great, who ran his fourth quarter in :23.29 and his final sixteenth in :5.96 to complete the mile and a sixteenth turf event in 1:40.42.
Lucky Chappy out finished Empire Builder by three-quarters of a length for second, while Cozzetti, Scorcher, Italo, and El Romano trailed the field.
Howe Great is son of Hat Trick out of the Western Winter mare Ginger Sea. Both the winner and the runner-up are owned by Team Valor International and trained by Graham Motion, the same connections as the 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom. It's possible that both colts could continue along the road to the Kentucky Derby, with one or both of them looming as serious contenders for the Palm Beach Stakes (gr. III) in March, as well as the Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I) over the Keeneland Polytrack in April.
-Keelerman
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