Mocito Rojo Wins Fifth in Row With Lukas Classic Score
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Photo: Coady Photography
Mocito Rojo wins the Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs
Wayne Davis' Mocito Rojo continued his consistent season Sept. 28 when he ran down Silver Dust by a neck to win the $250,000 Lukas Classic Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs.
It marked the fifth consecutive stakes win (four black type) for the 5-year-old son of Mutadda who is a head shy of perfect in six starts this season.
"I've waited all my life to have a horse like this," Davis said. "They say you keep waiting and one will come along. He won't be ignored anymore. Five stakes races in a row and he's never been favored to win. He comes back and shows everybody he's got more heart than Secretariat did, only his probably don't weigh as much."
Mocito Rojo, who went off at 8-1 odds, broke from the outside post 10, and jockey Gerard Melancon settled the chestnut in fourth through the first quarter-mile, then third. Pioneer Spirit took the lead and opened the 1 1/8-mile event with fractions of :24.04, :48.73, and 1:12.51. Silver Dust took over from second turning into the stretch, and Mocito Rojo went with the gray. The Louisiana shipper continued to draw closer until he was even with Silver Dust—trained locally by Bret Calhoun—then hit the wire first with a final surge.
The final time was 1:48.91 on a fast main track.
"I thought I had (Silver Dust) at the sixteenth pole, and he fought hard," said Melancon, who noted the Lukas Classic was his first time at Churchill Downs since 1985. "Bret's horse fought really hard, and mine fought hard, and we got the better of it."
Sir Anthony, Blueridge Traveler, Big Dollar Bill, Quip, Kukulkan, Tenfold, Pioneer Spirit, and Hawaakom completed the order of finish.
Winning trainer Shane Wilson claimed Mocito Rojo for Davis for a mere $10,000 in a December 2016 maiden claiming race at Delta Downs, the horse's first start. Now with a 17-3-1 record in 25 starts, Mocito Rojo has earned $797,000. He's won six black-type events, including the April 28 Steve Sexton Mile Stakes (G3) at Lone Star Park.
As for what's next, Wilson will likely send Mocito Rojo back to Louisiana.
"We're probably going to go home. They got a lot of races at the Fair Grounds, Oaklawn in the winter," Wilson said. "We won't have to travel that far. That will be next for us."
While the Lukas Classic has served as a steppingstone to the Breeders' Cup a handful of times, Wilson and Davis are taking things one step at a time.
"That's a long ways. That's a big step. We're working our way up the ladder," Wilson said. "He's getting better and better. Hopefully, we'll be there one day."
Mocito Rojo was bred in Kentucky by Paul and Andrena Van Doren. He is one of three registered foals out of the Orientate mare Blushing Royale, who was reported bred to Classic Empire this year.