O'Kratos Makes the Grade in Marine Stakes
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Photo: Michael Burns
O'Kratos wins the Marine Stakes at Woodbine
Terdik Farms, Sharon Bonder, and Walter M. Banach's O'Kratos charged to the front as the field headed for home and captured his first graded win in the May 13 $125,000 Marine Stakes (G3) at Woodbine.
The 1 1/16-mile test over the synthetic track attracted a field of eight 3-year-olds. Ontario-bred Inge was the determined pacesetter, setting fractions of :24.15, :48.16, and 1:12.60 through the first six furlongs. O'Kratos, with jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva up, settled comfortably in the second spot behind the leader as Archaggelos moved into third, tracking the pace through the first two turns.
Rounding the second turn, O'Kratos and Archaggelos closed on the leader, cutting the lead from three lengths to one as O'Kratos moved to the outside, edging past Inge to pull clear. Machtree made a final push to challenge on the inside, but O'Kratos managed to hold him at bay to win by three-quarters of a length in a final time of 1:43.90.
Aheadbyacentury followed in third, with Archaggelos settling for fourth in a photo finish. Inge, Rose's Vision, Tale of Vienna, and Eskiminzin completed the order of finish.
"He settled down pretty good in the first turn, and from there he was running very focused," said da Silva, who rode Canadian Horse of the Year Pink Lloyd to victory in the New Providence Stakes earlier in the day.
Bred in Kentucky by Dr. H Steve Conboy, O'Kratos is by Paddy O'Prado out of the unraced Speightstown mare Speightsy Heart. The Marine Stakes is the second straight victory for the gray or roan colt, who followed up his 11th-place run in his season debut with a win in an April 29 optional-claiming allowance over seven furlongs at Woodbine.
"He's been training like a bear every morning," trainer Darwin Banach said. "He just wants to win. … After that last race, it was like the light went (on) and he just wants to compete now."
O'Kratos was purchased for $8,000 by Denise Dillon, agent, from the Kaizen Sales consignment at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall yearling sale. He has a career record of 3-0-1 in six starts with earnings of $121,263.