Wakanaka Rallies in Fall Harvest, Heading to Sales Ring
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Photo: Casey Laughter
Wakanaka wins the Fall Harvest Stakes at Keeneland
It wasn't his biggest win of the weekend, but it sure felt good. Trainer Bill Mott put the capper on his Breeders' Cup weekend with the last of three wins coming Nov. 5 in the first edition of the $350,000 Fall Harvest Stakes Presented by Mint Gaming Hall on the turf at Keeneland. This race followed wins in the Qatar Racing Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) with Elite Power and the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) with Cody's Wish .
A late-charging Wakanaka trailed the entire field of six fillies and mares for most of the race before jockey Joel Rosario made his move entering the stretch. Wakanaka stopped the clock at 1:35.37.
"We've had a couple slow weeks leading into this and I was hoping we'd build up a little momentum. Save it up for today, and it worked," Mott said.
While the Hall of Fame conditioner was joking, there was some truth. His trainees had not won a stakes race since War Like Goddess captured the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes (G1T) and Elite Power won the Vosburgh Stakes (G2) Oct. 8.
Rosario took a patient approach, bidding his time while falling six lengths back halfway through the mile-long challenge. Burning Ambition had been setting the pace from the start and into the stretch with fractions of :23.84, :47.65, 1:11.91, and 1:23.54. Barry Irwin of Team Valor International, which co-owns Wakanaka, said that was the plan all along.
The timing was everything. Wakanaka, Irwin said, has a big run but that burst doesn't last very long.
"We were hoping there would be more speed to materialize and it didn't really happen except for the first quarter," Irwin said. "And when I saw her way back there, I didn't know how the hell she was gonna get up to tell you the truth. I was surprised."
Turning down the stretch, Rosario took his ride six wide and caught the leaders—Burning Ambition, Henrietta Topham , and Stolen Holiday . Wakanaka edged out 23-1 longshot Henrietta Topham by three-quarters of a length. Stolen Holiday, Shantisara , and Dalika round out the order of finish.
A $2 ticket paid $9.98.
"She's run well, for Joel," Mott said. "I mean, he just let her drop back, get comfortable... She ran into a very slow pace today, actually.
"But she closed very well."
Bred by Jean Brennan, Wakanaka was purchased at the 2019 Goffs UK Premier & Silver Yearling Sale for $4,274 out of the Tullerboy Farm consignment.
Wakanaka is out of the Kodiac mare Storyline. Her sire, Power , stands at Oaklands Stud in Australia for AUS$11,000. Wakanaka is one of three starters from four foals out of the mare.
It has been a banner year for Wakanaka, who more than doubled her career earnings. Prior to 2022, she had racked up $180,696. But after Saturday's triumph, she has earned $466,817 this year. She has a career total of 8-4-1 in 15 starts, with 2-2-1 from seven starts this year.
But now she will take the next step in her career on Nov. 7. Irwin said Wakanaka has been added to the sales catalog. She is entered as Hip 237 at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale consigned by Bluewater Sales.
"I own her with Gary Barber. We are both commercial," he said. "Everything we buy, we want to race and sell. I've changed my modus operandi. I'm a bid-ness-man... So we're hoping to make a profit."
What a way to head into a sale.
"Couldn't be any better," Irwin said.