Digital Age Remains Undefeated with American Turf Win

Klaravich Stables' Irish-bred Digital Age stormed down the middle of Churchill Downs' turf course to overtake pacesetter A Thread of Blue in deep stretch for a three-quarter-length victory in the American Turf Stakes Presented by Ram Trucks (G2T) for 3-year-olds on the May 4 undercard for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1).

A bay son of Invincible Spirit trained by Chad Brown, Digital Age was settled along the inside near the rear in the 1 1/16-mile test over firm turf as A Thread of Blue and Marquee Prince led the 13-horse field through moderate fractions of :24.19 and :49.32 for the half-mile. The lead remained unchanged after three-eighths of a mile was completed in 1:14.09 as they rounded the second turn. A Thread of Blue continued on down the stretch as 5-2 favorite Social Paranoia joined the fray and Marquee Prince faded.

Irad Ortiz Jr. moved Digital Age off the rail and into the center of the course coming out of the turn, and the 3-year-old colt resolutely made up ground, kicking it in as they neared the wire and winning in a final time of 1:44.63.

Digital Age returned $19.20, $8.60, and $5.40, with A Thread of Blue holding second to pay $4.80 and $3.20. Social Paranoia was worth $3.60 for third. They were followed by Seismic Wave, War Film, Avie's Flatter, The Black Album, Henley's Joy, Casa Creed, Louder Than Bombs, Marquee Prince, Forever Mo, and Weekly Call.

"I got a perfect trip," Ortiz said. "I saved ground, and when I wanted to tip him out, I tipped him out and he just exploded. He's a nice horse. He gets better and better every time he runs."

"He saved a lot of ground," Brown said of the trip. "He was stuck on the inside of the turf course, which is a double-edged sword. You want to save ground in these turf races, but clearly the outside of the turf course is a little bit better. I was just hoping Irad found good ground, and he did a good job of it. You've got to respect this horse—he knows where the wire is. He knows when to kick, and he can get there in time. We bought him as a yearling at Newmarket. We just took our time getting him to the races. He had a few baby issues, but the owners were real patient. His time is now."  

Jockey Luis Saez said he believed A Thread of Blue would secure the win.

"We had a great trip," Saez said. "He relaxed on the lead, and I really thought we could hold on."

"I wanted to get outside, but I couldn't," said Manny Franco, who rode Social Paranoia. "There were just too many horses outside me all the way around. He still ran real good. He's a nice horse."

"We wanted to get outside," said Todd Pletcher, who trains Social Paranoia. "It's soft down inside there. But he still had a good trip and a good run. The rider's good and he rode him well."

Digital Age remained undefeated in three career starts. He broke his maiden by 1 1/4 lengths in his debut at Tampa Bay Downs at a mile on grass in January and followed with a late surge to win the Columbia Stakes, also at a mile over Tampa's grass course.

Bred in Ireland by Merry Fox Stud, Digital Age is the first foal out of the unraced Lemon Drop Kid mare Willow View. Agent Mike Ryan selected Digital Age out of The Castlebridge Consignment to the 2017 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, with Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stables paying the U.S. equivalent of $451,781.