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

Balance the Books wins again in Bourbon Stakes

Balance the Books picked up his second consecutive graded stakes victory when he rallied from last to win the $150,000 Bourbon Stakes (gr. III) at Keeneland by a nose.

Under a patient ride from Julien Leparoux, Balance the Books hopped just a bit at the start and was away last, content to trail the field by about ten lengths as Road Agent led the way through fractions of :23.13 and :47.57. Really Sharp was racing in second, followed by Strike the Note, Ruler of Love, and Slamarama. Summit County, Roman's Avenue, and Sonofasamurai were next in line, while Fredericksburg, Brown Almighty, Army Hero, and Balance the Books trailed the field.

Road Agent continued to show the way through three-quarters of a mile in 1:13.40, but turning for home he began to tire, allowing Really Sharp to take command of the lead. But passing the eighth pole, Really Sharp drifted out badly, impeding Strike the Note, Summit County, and Sonofasamurai. However, one colt that was not seriously impeded was Balance the Books, who managed to rally far enough outside to avoid the traffic and get up for a narrow victory over Really Sharp, stopping the clock for 1 1/16th miles on turf in 1:45.15.

Really Sharp finished 1 1/2 lengths clear of third-place finisher Brown Almighty, but was disqualified and placed sixth for interfering with Strike the Note. Thus, the official order of finish was Balance the Books, Brown Almighty, Sonofasamurai, Summit County, Strike the Note, Really Sharp, Fredericksburg, Roman's Avenue, Ruler of Love, Slamarama, Army Hero, and Road Agent.

The winner, a son of Lemon Drop Kid out of the Seeking the Gold mare Kreisleriana, is trained by Chad Brown and owned by Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence. He had previously won the With Anticipation Stakes (gr. II) at Saratoga over Joha, who came back to win the Breeders' Futurity (gr. I) here at Keeneland on Saturday.

-Keelerman