Olympiad won his fourth consecutive race and third graded stakes score Friday at Churchill Downs with a 2 ½-length victory in the $500,000 Alysheba S. (G2).
Speightstown, currently in the top five on the 2022 General Sire list, has three more Derby Day stakes entries on Saturday at Churchill Downs, including Shirl’s Speight, recent winner of the Maker’s Mark Mile (G1), in the Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic (G1), the race prior to the Kentucky Derby.
In the Alysheba, Weyburn set the pace, with Olympiad tracking to his outside in second through fractions of :24.21 and :48.43. Going into the far turn, Olympiad began to close in on Weyburn with Happy Saver making a three-wide move that propelled him to the front at the head of the stretch.
Although he was in tight between Happy Saver and a fading Weyburn with three-sixteenths to run, Olympiad found himself in the clear at the eighth pole and pulled away for the victory.
The final time of 1:41.60 was less than a second off the 1 1/16-mile track record.
“We thought he was a nice horse since he was a 2-year-old,” said trainer Bill Mott. “He missed a lot of time in his 3-year-old year unfortunately. The patience that we were allowed to have with him and waited until he got right paid off. He’s a really good horse and competing at a top level.
In winning, Olympiad improved his record to 9-6-1-1 and added $303,800 to his bankroll that now totals $962,240 for Grandview Equine, Cheyenne Stables LLC and LNJ Foxwoods.
The winner was bred in Kentucky by Emory Hamilton and sold for $700,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling sale.
