Honorable Dillon makes the grade in Hutcheson Stakes

Honorable Dillon picked up the first graded stakes victory of his career when he rallied to the lead and held off Forty Tales to win the $150,000 Hutcheson Stakes (gr. II) at Gulfstream Park by a half-length.

Ridden to victory by Joseph Rocco Jr., Honorable Dillon was taken back to race in fourth early on, four lengths behind front-running Singanothersong. Undrafted and Merit Man were tracking the pace in second and third, while Weekend Hideaway, Forty Tales, Really Sharp, and Pataky Kid were the early trailers.

Through fractions of :22.07 and :44.64 Singanothersong led the way, but rounding the turn, Undrafted and Honorable Dillon moved up as a team to challenge for the lead. Undrafted was the first to gain the advantage, passing the eighth pole in front by a half-length following three-quarters of a mile in 1:09.40, but Honorable Dillon tenaciously rallied past to take command of the lead.

Forty Tales rallied quickly on the outside after racing along the rail for much of the race, but ran out of ground and fell a half-length short of Honorable Dillon, who reached the wire in 1:22.53 seconds.

Undrafted finished a nose behind Forty Tales in third, followed by Merit Man, Weekend Hideaway, Singanothersong, Pataky Kid, and Really Sharp.

Honorable Dillon is a son of Tapit out of Shy Greeting, by Shy Tom. He is trained by Eddie Keneally and owned by Joseph Brucci.

-Keelerman

Joha steals Breeders' Futurity in gate-to-wire fashion

Joha, sent off at nearly 9-1, went straight to the lead and never looked back in the $400,000 Dixiana Breeders' Futurity (gr. I) this afternoon at Keeneland, staying on strongly in the stretch to win by a length.

Ridden to victory by Rajiv Maragh, Joha was able to set slow fractions of :23.90 and :48.41 while receiving only mild pressure from Tizracer and Pataky Kid. Craving Carats was racing four-wide in the fourth position, followed along the inside by Are You Kidding Me. Java's War, Dynamic Sky, and He's So Fine were racing in mid-pack, while Hightail, Charming Kitten, He's Had Enough, Tree of Life, and Positively trailed the field.

Joha continued to set a slow pace through three-quarters of a mile in 1:12.86 seconds, but turning for home, everything began to happen at once. Java's War began to rally on the outside, but was bumped hard by Pataky Kid, who was shifting to the outside while looking for racing room. Java's War probably would have recovered from the incident except that Dynamic Sky had suddenly appeared from nowhere on the far outside. Thus, Java's War was squeezed hard in between horses and his momentum was checked.

In the meantime, Joha continued to roll along on the lead, passing the eighth pole in front by a length. Dynamic Sky made a determined run at him, but Joha had plenty left in the tank, closing his final sixteenth in a good :6.37 seconds to stop the clock for 1 1/16th miles in 1:44.52 seconds.

Java's War finished three-quarters of a length behind Dynamic Sky in third, while Pataky Kid won a four-horse photo for fourth over Are You Kidding Me, Hightail, and Positively. He's So Fine, Charming Kitten, Tree of Life, He's Had Enough,Tizracer, and Craving Carats completed the order of finish.

The winner is owned by Bluegrass Equine Bloodstock and trained by Mike Maker.

-Keelerman

Dixiana Breeders' Futurity Entries: 16 looking for BC berth

A total of sixteen horses have been entered in Saturday's $400,000 Dixiana Breeders' Futurity (gr. I) at Keeneland, most if not all with an eye toward the fees-paid berth to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) that a victory in the Futurity would bring.

The 1 1/16th miles Polytrack event was won last year by Dullahan, who went on to win the Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I) and Pacific Classic (gr. I) this year, as well as place in the Kentucky Derby (gr. I). Time will tell if the 2012 victor goes on to reach similar heights, but given how many promising horses have been entered, it certainly wouldn't be a surprise.

Among the prominent entrants are Balance the Books, winner of the With Anticipation Stakes (gr. II); Pataky Kid, winner of the Arlington-Washington Futurity (gr. III); Java's War, winner of the Sunday Silence Stakes; Joha, winner of the Colin Stakes and runner-up in the With Anticipation; Are You Kidding Me, runner-up in the Summer Stakes (gr. II); Positively, runner-up in the Bashford Manor Stakes (gr. III) during the spring; and Tizracer, a 10 1/2-length maiden winner at Belmont earlier this month.

Post Positions:
1 Joha
2 Are You Kidding Me
3 He's So Fine
4 Java's War
5 Tizracer
6 Pataky Kid
7 Craving Carats
8 Dipsy Drew
9 Charming Kitten
10 Positively
11 Balance the Books
12 Dynamic Sky
13 He's Had Enough
14 Tree of Life
Also Eligibles:
15 High Tail
16 Zoloto

-Keelerman

PATAKY KID WINS THE ARLINGTON-WASHINGTON FUTURITY!

Pataky Kid split horses at the three-sixteenths pole and drew off late to win the $150,000 Arlington-Washington Futurity (gr. III) at Arlington Park this afternoon by three lengths.

Ridden to victory by Garrett Gomez, Pataky Kid was content to race in fourth early on while along the rail as heavily favored Muppet Man led the way through fractions of :23.50 and :46.85 seconds. Stormin Monarcho was tracking him in second, followed by Urban Renewal and the eventual winner. Scissortail G, Ultimo Trago, Mylute, and Glenco Kid were the early trailers.

Muppet Man continued to lead the way through three-quarters of a mile in 1:11.57 seconds, and turned for home with the lead. However, Pataky Kid was rallying strongly along the inside, and after splitting horses at the top of the stretch, he finished up in terrific fashion to win the race by a decisive three lengths. The final time for the mile was 1:37.58 seconds.

Muppet Man held on to second over Stormin Monarcho, with Ultimo Trago, Mylute, Glenco Kid, Scissortail G, and Urban Renewal completed the order of finish.

The winner is owned by Swifty Farms Inc. and trained by Thomas Proctor.

-Keelerman

Arlington-Washington Futurity Entries and Post Positions

Here are the entries and post positions for the $150,000 Arlington-Washington Futurity (gr. III), to be run on Saturday at Arlington Park. The one-mile race has drawn a promising field of eight two-year-old colts and fillies, including Meadowlake Stakes winner Muppet Man and last-out winner Pataky Kid.

1 Muppet Man
2 Ultimo Trago
3 Pataky Kid
4 Stormin Monarcho
5 Glenco Kid
6 Urban Renewal
7 Scissortail G
8 Mylute

-Keelerman