Highland Chief Punches Through in Sycamore

Watching Highland Chief  sit a pocket trip off the pace set by Accredit  in the $266,813 Sycamore Stakes (G3T) Oct. 14 at Keeneland, trainer Graham Motion saw the action unfold almost exactly as he'd imagined it on paper.  

Rarely do races play out perfectly to plan, but Friday's feature resulted in a return to the winner's circle for Fitri Hay's homebred and a potential bid at the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T), should the 5-year-old son of Gleneagles  come out of the 1 1/2-mile Sycamore well.

"This is how we saw it setting up... I can't believe it kind of unfolded exactly the way we saw it, because that doesn't often happen," Motion said. "I thought they might go a little quicker, to be honest, but that's his trip. He doesn't want to be too far back. I think he appreciates the mile and a half, I think the extra furlong helps him, to be honest."

The Sycamore was a pivot for Highland Chief, who caught a cold that caused him to miss the Oct. 8 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes (G1T) at Aqueduct Racetrack. Instead, fellow Motion trainee Bye Bye Melvin  ran second to War Like Goddess  in that spot, while Highland Chief came to Kentucky.

Winner of the May 14 Man o' War Stakes (G1T) going 1 3/8 miles at Belmont, the bay horse put a pair of fourth-place efforts in the June 11 Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes (G1T) at Belmont Park and the July 31 Bowling Green Stakes (G2T) at Saratoga Race Course behind him with Friday's one-length victory over 23-1 shot Temple . 

EHALT: Highland Chief Upsets Gufo, Yibir in Man o' War

"I was probably surprised when he won the Man o' War, how well he did it," Motion said. "I think he struggled over the summer with the heat, to be honest, and I've really been pleased with him for the past month or two, until the last week when he got this cough which kind of put us off—but maybe it was a blessing in disguise. From a pace point of view, this race probably suited this horse better."

Accredit posted opening fractions of :25.31, :50.20, and 1:15.49, with Channel Maker  tracking second in the 12-horse field and Highland Chief racing fifth through the quarter and third through the half. As the pace began to quicken through 1 1/4 miles in 2:05.13, Highland Chief moved up to second then easily slipped inside the leader and gained an advantage, inching away to open up on his rivals before holding sway under driving pressure through the late stages. The final time was 2:28.87 on firm turf.

"(My instructions were) very simple—we talked about it this morning; (trainer) Graham (Motion) and I did," jockey John Velazquez said. "We looked at the race and there was only one horse really with speed, and the horse (Channel Maker) Luis (Saez) rides is always close. I just tried to stay right behind horses, save some ground and hope he would come running. I was just looking for some sort of space at the quarter pole, and once I got it, he was there for me."

Highland Chief returned $15.32 on a $2 win ticket at 6-1 odds. Highest Honors , drawn in off the also-eligible list after the scratch of Another Mystery , completed the trifecta, edging out Channel Maker by a nose for third.

Bred in Ireland out of the group 3-winning Montjeu mare Pink Symphony , Highland Chief was the first winner for Gleneagles as a juvenile.

THOMAS: Gleneagles Gets First Winner from First First Starter

Pink Symphony is closely related to group 3-winning juvenile Fantasia. That pair are out of a daughter of champion 2-year-old Blue Duster, winner of the 1995 Cheveley Park Stakes (G1). Pink Symphony dropped a Night of Thunder  filly May 6 and has a yearling filly by Churchill  along with a 2-year-old full brother to Highland Chief. From five starters she has produced four winners, with Highland Chief being her top performer and only graded winner.

Highland Chief improved his record to 4-2-2 from 15 starts, with earnings of $708,300.

"He was a very good horse in Europe," Motion said. "He's a class horse, he's run against top horses in Europe, and I think they wanted to try and find some spots where they could go for some big money races with him."

There's no bigger-money race remaining in the United States this year for Highland Chief's division than the $4 million Breeders' Cup Turf.

"I think if he comes out of it well, he's right there at Keeneland, and they'll want to take a shot," Motion said.

Strobe Shines at Keeneland

Godolphin homebred Strobe  served notice of potential brilliance Friday at Keeneland with a six-length romp in Race 8, a $110,000 six-furlong allowance event at the Lexington track.

Entered off the bench in his second start, the 3-year-old Into Mischief   colt took his record to 2-for-2 for trainer Brad Cox after breaking his maiden May 7 by 4 1/2 lengths going the same distance at Churchill Downs.

Florent Geroux was back in the irons on Strobe, who went straight to the front and stayed there. After posting splits of :22.92, :46.55, and :58.46, the bay colt continued to draw off despite being put under wraps a sixteenth from home, and finished in 1:10.46 on a fast track.

Strobe returned $2.76 on a $2 win ticket as the heavy favorite in a 10-horse field while improving his earnings to $133,398. He is out of dual grade 1-winner Flashing , a daughter of A. P. Indy who took the Gazelle Stakes (G1) and Test Stakes (G1) in 2009. 

Video: Sycamore S. (G3T)