Horse for Course Surveillance Wins Thanksgiving Classic
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Photo: Hodges Photography / Amanda Hodges Weir
Surveillance (gray) wins the Thanksgiving Classic at the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots
Surrounded by a spirited crowd and a festival atmosphere, Surveillance feasted upon the field to win the 98th running of the $175,000 Thanksgiving Classic Stakes Nov. 24 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. He races for Big Chief Racing, Rocker O Ranch, and Keith Desormeaux, who also trains him.
Some handicappers might call him a horse for the course, some might say the six-furlong distance suits him best, but his trainer thinks he knows why all four of the Kentucky-bred son of Constitution 's wins have come at Fair Grounds.
"He loves the surface here, he loves James (jockey Graham), or an even simpler explanation: the horse just might be Cajun," Desormeaux said in the winner's circle.
In a field of seven sprinting across a fast main track, Chattalot broke sharply to the lead and moved through the opening fractions in :22.12 and :45.16. The filly Carribean Caper kept closest to the leader, but after maintaining a one-length lead at the stretch call, Chattalot opened up, and he appeared poised to wire the field.
After stalking on the rail from mid-pack, the 1.10-1 favorite Heart Rhythm battled past the filly in the homestretch, but right when he struck for the lead, the dappled-out gray Surveillance came hustling on the outside of those two to take over late, and scored by a half-length. The winner was timed in 1:09.93 for the distance.
Heart Rhythm rallied with the winner, but settled for second. It was another two lengths back to the pacesetting Chattalot, who dug in for third. Carribean Caper rounded out the superfecta.
"(Surveillance) can be a little bit tricky," Graham said. "I was happy where I was sitting (coming out of the turn), and when I squeezed him, he went. He didn't slow down much coming toward the wire."
Surveillance's backers cashed in their tickets for $10.80 at the windows, and with the Thanksgiving Classic trophy in hand, Desormeaux explained how he used the recent Bet On Sunshine Stakes at Churchill Downs to ready his gelding for the win.
"Him being a tricky horse is an understatement," Desormeaux said, echoing Graham's comment. "I know it seems different for me to run him back ten days after another stake. But the horse is really difficult to train, and I actually used that stake as a prep for this race."
Bred by Kendall E. Hansen and M.D. Racing in Kentucky, Surveillance now has $346,367 in earnings with a 4-3-5 record in 20 starts. He is among three winners from six foals to race out of the Mizzen Mast mare Majorelle, who also has a yearling colt by Summer Front and a Vekoma weanling colt.
Surveillance was a $25,000 purchase from the 2018 September Yearling Sale by Big Chief Racing from the Scott Malory consignment.