By My Standards Makes Successful 2020 Debut
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Photo: Adrianna Lynch
By My Standards and his owner Chester Thomas of Allied Racing Stable at Churchill Downs
Unraced since the May 4 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), By My Standards made a successful 4-year-old debut Feb. 9 in an optional claiming allowance race at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
The Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) winner finished 11th in the Kentucky Derby and was given time off by trainer Bret Calhoun, who trains the Goldencents colt for Chester Thomas' Allied Racing Stable.
Ahead of Sunday's 1 1/16-mile test, Calhoun said By My Standards was training well and he was looking forward to getting him back on track.
"The good and the bad of that is—the bad is he's still eligible for a two-other-than, and the good is he's still eligible for a two-other-than. It's a great place to come off the bench, come off a long layoff," Calhoun said Feb. 4.
"Most of the time these horses like that, they have to come back in graded stakes," he explained. "It makes it twice as hard on them. You have to train on them a lot harder and the races are that much tougher. We're really happy to find this spot and that it went. We think he's ready, he's training really, really well. We're pretty excited to run him and hopefully he performs well on Sunday and he'll move back into a stakes schedule after that."
By My Standards sat off the pace in second in Sunday's race with Gabriel Saez aboard as Two Emmys set fractions of :24.64, :49.29, and 1:13.50 through six furlongs. As By My Standards gained on the leader and came within a neck mid-turn, the pair began to separate themselves from the three others in the field.
Off at odds of 1-2, By My Standards dug in under a hand ride to get past Two Emmys at the top of the stretch and at the wire he had a six-length advantage. He stopped the clock in 1:43.75 over a fast track. Two Emmys held on for second.
Bred in Kentucky by Don Ladd, By My Standards is the second foal out of the stakes-winning Muqtarib mare A Jealous Woman. He boosted his earnings to $681,910 with a record of 3-2-1 from seven starts, his only off-the-board finish coming in the Kentucky Derby.