Runaway Storm Prevails in Bryan Station Three-Way Photo
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Photo: Coady Photography/Renee Torbit
Runaway Storm (middle) wins the Bryan Station Stakes at Keeneland
A consistent face among the Keeneland stable area year in and year out, and a familiar sight aboard his horses in the mornings, conditioner Ethan West's efforts were rewarded Oct. 28 when Runaway Storm captured the $300,000 Bryan Station Stakes (G3T) in a thrilling stretch drive.
The young trainer notched his monumental first Keeneland stakes victory in the Bryan Station in a three-way photo finish, with Runaway Storm edging favored Talk of the Nation and Santorini by a short head under the wire.
WATCH: West Wins First Keeneland Stakes With Runaway Storm
"They flashed number six up there and it was a big relief," West admitted after the race.
The pacesetter in his last three races, Runaway Storm walked out of the gate at the start of the one-mile Bryan Station, throwing both his jockey and trainer for a loop as the race was underway.
"(I was) A little worried honestly (when he didn't make the lead). Not that he's one-dimensional but he's just always run better on the front end. But come the far turn when he started making his move and Colby (Hernandez) was just sitting there while the horse was taking the bit I had some confidence in the horse. And he dug in and prevailed for us."
Shuffled back into midpack early, the Midnight Storm gelding picked off rivals down the backstretch and vied four-wide around the turn for home. Leveling down and stretching for the wire, he outfought a stubborn Santorini on his inside before repelling a late bid from Talk of the Nation on his outside.
Runaway Storm raced the mile on a turf course rated as "good" in 1:35.93. He returned his supporters a handsome $42.50 for a $2 win ticket.
"It's huge (to win here). This is my favorite track in the world," West said. "I absolutely love it here. I come here just for the meet even if we're not going to run some of the horses but to train. The horses are just happy here. It's a beautiful facility, it's just awesome, I don't have any other words to describe it."
A homebred for Robert Hunt, who also nabbed his first graded stakes win as an owner, Runaway Storm improved his record to 3-0-1 from five career starts for earnings of $288,525.
Glengarry Cruises to Special Stakes Score
Earlier on the closing day card, Iowa-bred Glengarry proved he was no ordinary Iowa-bred Oct. 28 with a gritty victory in the $200,000 Bowman Mills Stakes.
Glengarry prevails in the Bowman Mill Stakes
Before taking on Keeneland, Glengarry had handily defeated his fellow Iowa-breds by a combined 18 1/4 lengths at Prarie Meadows. Although those two wins were achieved in frontrunning fashion, the leggy son of Maximus Mischief was forced to take a backseat behind a freewheeling Cowes through opening splits of :22.39 and :45.23 early. Rating kindly in second under Luis Saez, Glengarry blasted by the pacesetter at the top of the lane and dug in late to hold off Normandy Hero by a half-length under the wire.
Racing for the partnership of Aaron Kennedy, Joseph Toby, and Doug Anderson, the steely gray colt stopped the clock in a final time of 1:11.52 on a fast track dampened by an afternoon drizzle.
Normandy Hero, fresh off an Oct. 7 maiden triumph for trainer Rodolphe Brisset, was a clear second over Valentine Candy in third.
Increasing his earnings to $177,501, Glengarry ($7.46) provided conditioner Doug Anderson with his first-ever Keeneland stakes win.
Video: Bowman Mill S. (BT)