Leave the Light On Speeds to Remsen Score

Leave The Light On (inside) burst on to the Kentucky Derby trail with a win in the Remsen Stakes. (Photos by NYRA/Coglianese Photos)
With speed horses, particularly those on the inside, dominating on Saturday at Aqueduct, Leave the Light On was in ideal position while setting the pace in the $400,000 Remsen Stakes through an easy opening half-mile.
The chestnut 2-year-old by Horse Greeley turned back Classy Class and then held off determined runner-up Frosted in the final eighth of a mile to win the Remsen by a half-length under Jose Ortiz.
Leave the Light On entered the 1 1/8-mile Remsen off a dominant, front-running 4 ½-length victory in his second career start, which came five weeks after a disappointing seventh in his career debut for trainer Chad Brown and owners Klaravich Stables and William H. Lawrence.
“Watching the card earlier, speed was very good, especially from the inside. This horse has speed, and on the stretch out, two turns, he's going to put himself on or near the lead,” Brown said.
In the Remsen, Leave the Light On looked much more like the colt who dominated his second start than the one who was sluggish in his debut. He jetted right to the lead and cruised through an opening half-mile in :24.51 and a half-mile in :48.91 with Classy Class and Frosted racing in second and third, respectively.
LEAVE THE LIGHT ON IN THE REMSEN

Both Classy Class and Frosted launched their bids approaching the stretch, but leave the Light On Would not be denied. He completed the 1 1/8 miles in 1:51.06 to win his stakes debut.
“It was the perfect trip,” Ortiz said. “The way the track is playing today helped me a lot. We broke good and the plan was to take the lead like Chad [Brown] told me. He was relaxed, I tried to slow him down as best I could, and when I asked him to go he was there. Perfect training [job] by Chad Brown and his team.”
The $240,000 winner’s share boosted Leave the Light On’s career earnings to $280,375. One of four winners from as many starters out of the Mineshaft mare Lantern Glow, Leave the Light On is a half-brother (same dam [mother], different sire [father]) to stakes winner Harlan’s Pure.
“He really dragged us to this race in his training,” Brown said. “We were using him as a work horse with the other couple of horses I had nominated for this race, and he kept outworking them. Jose came out and got to know him the last couple of times and I think that made this difference.
“A couple years back, we had that narrow defeat in the Remsen with Normandy Invasion, where he was in front right by the wire and Overanalyze came back and bobbed him. Ever since then we've been determined to come back and put our head in front. So it was good we got to do it today.”
Frosted finished second, eight lengths clear of third-place finisher Keen Ice.
For an Equibase chart, click here.