LRE Racing’s T Kraft squeezed between rivals late to capture his first stakes victory in Saturday’s $125,000 Jimmy Winkfield, a six-furlong sprint for sophomores at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Trained by Bill Mott and bred in Kentucky by Dr. John Eaton and Dr. Steve Laymon, the bay son of Connect earned his third consecutive local victory after a nose graduation at sixth asking going six furlongs in January and a 1 1/4-length optional claiming win sprinting 6 1/2-furlongs on Feb. 14. He’s now earned $187,724.
The $110,000 purchase from the Hidden Brook consignment at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale is out of the winning Johannesburg mare Margarita Friday, making him a half-brother to the 2024 champion male sprinter Straight No Chaser and stakes winner Hangover Saturday. Both Straight No Chaser and T Kraft were also foaled and at the bucolic Hidden Brook Farm in Paris, Kentucky.
“He’s been progressing nicely,” said Mott’s Belmont Park-based assistant Leana Willaford.
Ridden to victory by Jose Lezcano, T Kraft emerged from the inside post and stalked along the rail while the filly Paula’s a Star pressured Do It for Michael and took charge through the opening quarter-mile in 23.09 seconds over the fast track.
T Kraft was full of run and waiting for room as he advanced up the inside, but was left with nowhere to go in the stretch as he ran up on the heels of a stubborn Paula’s a Star and Saxton dug in closely to his outside. Lezcano angled T Kraft out to squeeze through a small seam when Paula’s a Star finally gave way, and – after making contact with Saxton near the eighth pole – hit the clear at the sixteenth pole en route to a neck win in a final time of 1:12.32.
“The horse outside [Saxton] pushed me in a little bit and my horse got intimidated a little bit,” Lezcano explained. “He looked at him – I had to really show him that he had to go and he went on and won the race.”
– edited from www.yahoo.com
