Get Western Gets First Stakes Win in Old Friends

When Ward Pitfield's Get Western secures an early lead, the son of Get Stormy  most assuredly is dangerous.

After breaking well in the $241,500 Old Friends Stakes Sept. 5 at Kentucky Downs, Get Western used that front-end prowess to score the first stakes win of his career by 1 1/2 lengths in virtually unchallenged fashion.

Trained by Charlie LoPresti, Get Western entered Thursday's one-mile, 70-yard turf test for horses who have not won a stakes race this year off an allowance-level victory on the Ellis Park turf, where he enjoyed a clear advantage at every point of call. He also won an allowance race on the turf at Churchill Downs in May. The 4-year-old's first victory was a front-end score in a one-mile maiden race on the turf at Churchill Downs in May 2018.

In both of those previous gate-to-wire wins, Brian Hernandez Jr. was aboard, and he got the call in Thursday's lucrative race. Get Western comfortably handled the undulating turf while pressed by the always-speedy grade 3 winner The Tabulator, who was making his first turf start.

In the far turn, those two opened four lengths on the rest of the field as they cruised toward the long stretch. When The Tabulator gave way, Get Western found himself alone on the lead, and he kept to task, opening a four-length advantage. The 8-1 choice completed the race in 1:43.96 on firm turf.

"He's one of those horses where he's so athletic today, he was there for me every pole, every step of the way," Hernandez said. "He never traveled like he was going to get beat. Around the turn, it's a little chewed up, but he's so athletic, I was able to put him so close to the fence that he was able to get on the good path. He was just cruising.

"Turning for home when I called on him, he picked it up again. I didn't even worry about anything else. I thought, 'If a horse beats him from this point, they really have to be running.'"

Late in the race, Get Western literally took flight, jumping a shadow.

"The (shadows from the) Breeders' Cup signs—they were waving a little, and he jumped them," Hernandez said. "It just goes to show you how easy he did it. Because he was just paying attention to his surroundings, he was just cruising up there on the lead, and that's what caused him to jump the signs."

Get Western was followed home by a pair of Mike Maker trainees in Three Diamonds Farm's Cullum Road, who never seriously threatened the winner in finishing second, and Hooties Racing and Michal Hui's Space Mountain in third.

LoPresti said they'll look at their next options for racing at Keeneland.

Multiple graded stakes winner Mr. Misunderstood, sent off the 6-5 favorite after a strong closing effort to finish third in the Kentucky Downs Preview Tourist Mile Stakes Aug. 4 at Ellis Park, never contended and finished 10th of 11. Trainer Brad Cox suspects the 5-year-old son of Archarcharch doesn't like racing on Kentucky Downs' unique course, where he's winless in two starts.

"He won't race here again. … He didn't care for it last year. Obviously he didn't care for it today," Cox said. "His last race was pretty good, and to run (poorly) like that (Thursday). We'll draw a line through this one and give him another shot somewhere."