Lucky Star pulled a surprise win in the final furlongs, taking the second jewel of the Triple Crown yesterday, shockingly spoiling the return of Vera’s Finally and breaking her winning streak at the Rising Sun Turf Club.
The crowd at the overflowing venue erupted in excitement as the ‘underdog’ chestnut colt which became owned following a raffle two years ago, upset the betting favorite who had never lost in three starts at the Club.
Vera’s Finally stable mate, Don’t Over Look (Jumbo Jet Racing Stables) had taken the first jewel a month ago beating Lucky Star into second. But with Don’t Over Look resting and Vera’s Finally returning to track for the feature C3 and lower event, the excitement was fever pitched.
As customary, Storm Bird stormed out of the gates setting a blistering pace on the well prepared track with the other thoroughbreds a few lengths back.
Storm Bird had the lead, Lucky Star, Vera’s Finally, Red Rocket and TNT were lurking as champion jockey Ronaldo Appadu was waiting for the right moment to go.
The race which featured five starters was going according to his plan.
Around the second turn, Appadu angled the champion race horse to the outside of Storm Bird and the horses were neck-and-neck with about five furlongs to go.
And then the theatrics started to unfold.
Storm Bird with Colin Ross in the stirrups went clear, her lead building with every powerful stride and then it happened. But with one breathtaking surge over the final two furlongs, Lucky Star of the Cheefoon Racing Stables with Vera’s Finally on his hip seemingly never tired, displayed superb sprinting speed.
The steed pinned back its ears and drew off on the home straight to claim the $1M first prize in 1m:26.66s by about a length ahead of Vera’s Finally. Storm Bird faded slightly to third while Red Rocket had a late surge and finished in fourth.
It was Appadu’s third win of the day after piloting Miss Olympic (I Class and J Class) to two wins.
Ron Ali of Trinidad who mounted Vera’s Finally, finished with two wins on the backs of Vera’s Finally stablemates, Keep On Swinging (H and Lower) and Valentina (3 Year-Old).
The next stop is Port Mourant on April 21, where the final jewel is up for grabs.
