King Zachary Crowned Victor in Matt Winn

What looked to be a duel to the finish ended in an upset. 

With a tremendous kick that propelled him to the front of the pack, Tom Conway's King Zachary blew away the competition as he powered home in the stretch to win the $100,000 Matt Winn Stakes (G3) June 16 at Churchill Downs. 

Despite some grumbling in the gate, Ax Man—the 4-5 favorite—bounded swiftly to the lead and pressed the pace in the 1 1/16-mile test for 3-year-olds. He was challenged early by Tiz Mischief, and the pair set fractions of :24.55, :48.08, and 1:12.15 through six furlongs over a fast track. 

As those rivals rounded the turn for home, King Zachary—who had rated kindly in third behind the pacesetters on the rail—shifted three wide on the outside and dug in with a final rally at the top of the lane.

Hurtling past the tiring leaders, the son of Curlin  drove away in deep stretch under a brisk ride by jockey Robby Albarado to cross the wire 4 3/4 lengths ahead in a final time of 1:42.86.

"We might be hearing a lot out of this horse," trainer Dale Romans said.  

Tiz Mischief took second, and Ax Man, who faded rather drastically in the final furlongs, held for third, another eight lengths back. Funny Duck, Combatant, and Home Base completed the order of finish. 

"This horse keeps getting better with each start," Albarado said. "I can't thank Dale and Mr. Conway enough for letting me ride this horse. I think we are setting ourselves up for a big year with this horse. Dale gave me a lot of confidence this week."

Sent off at odds of 12-1, King Zachary returned $26.60, $10, and $4.40. Tiz Mischief paid $12.40 and $4.40, and Ax Man paid $2.10. 

It was the fifth start and third win this season for King Zachary, who was bred in Kentucky by Waymore. He broke his maiden March 18 at Gulfstream Park before stepping up to graded company in the Wood Memorial Stakes presented by NYRA Bets (G2), where he finished sixth behind Vino Rosso. 

As to where he would point the colt next, Romans said his ultimate goal is the July 29 Betfair.com Haskell Invitational (G1) at Monmouth Park.

"He's had trouble getting himself started," Romans said. "This is a really good horse, and he's just learning how to run."

Conway purchased King Zachary for $550,000 from Eaton Sales' consignment to the Keeneland September yearling sale. The Matt Winn was his first graded victory and improved his record to 3-0-2 from six starts, with $172,650 in earnings.