Seeking the Soul Punches BC Ticket in Stephen Foster
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Photo: Coady Photography
Seeking the Soul drives past Quip to win the Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs
Seeking the Soul was excluded from the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) last season when he checked in a No. 17 on the preference list, failing to make the cutoff for the 14-horse field.
But owner/breeder Charles Fipke and trainer Dallas Stewart won't be haunted by disappointment this year, at least not where eligibility is concerned.
The 6-year-old son of Perfect Soul punched his ticket to the marquee event June 15 with a determined victory in the $600,000 Stephen Foster Stakes Presented by GE Appliances (G2), a Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" race at Churchill Downs. Not only did the victory earn Seeking the Soul a guaranteed spot in the starting gate for the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic Nov. 2 at Santa Anita Park, but his connections will have all Breeders' Cup pre-entry and entry fees covered and receive a travel award up to $10,000.
"They can't take it away from us, we got our golden ticket," Stewart said. "This is a great horse. He's a 6-year-old who acts like a young horse. He's very energetic about his training and about life. Chuck Fipke, he's got the momma and the daddy, and he's one of the greatest breeders ever."
Seeking the Soul closed from sixth under Hall of Famer John Velazquez in the Stephen Foster, and prevailed with a thrilling stretch run when he edged Quip by a neck, with pacesetter Tom's d'Etat another 1 3/4 lengths back in third. The final time for the 1 1/8-mile test was 1:49.27.
"We will definitely be in the Breeders' Cup Classic this year," Stewart said. "This horse is so special to our entire barn. We have to thank Mr. Fipke for allowing us to train him. With family and friends here tonight, this is as good as it gets—we're in the Classic."
Tom's d'Etat set the pace Saturday, leading the field of 12 older horses through quarter-mile fractions of :24.60, :49.43, and 1:13.44 with Quip matching strides about a half-length back to his outside. Meanwhile, Seeking the Soul had a perfect tracking trip down the backstretch.
As the horses reached the top of the stretch, Quip drew even with Tom's d'Etat and took over with three-sixteenths to run. Seeking the Soul moved into third and was full of run in the clear from the outside as he powered down the stretch to engage the leaders. He collared the front-runners with a sixteenth of a mile to run and edged clear for the win.
Seeking the Soul rewarded his backers with payoffs of $11.20, $6.20 and $4.20 as the 9-2 third betting choice. After Quip and Tom's d'Etat came Santa Anita Handicap (G1) winner Gift Box, who invaded from Southern California as the 2-1 favorite under Joel Rosario.
"They went pretty slow up front and he just couldn't close into the leaders," Rosario said.
The order of finish was completed by Thirstforlife, Yoshida, Exulting, Runaway Ghost, Tenfold, King Zachary, Alkhaatam, and Rated R Superstar.
The Stephen Foster was the third graded stakes win for Seeking the Soul, who won the 2017 Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (G1) and last year's Ack Ack Stakes (G3), both at Churchill. After winning the Ack Ack, Seeking the Soul finished second to City of Light in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) and Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1).
Following an eighth-place finish in the Dubai World Cup (G1), the bay runner returned to the states and Churchill for the May 4 Alysheba Stakes (G2) and finished third behind McKinzie and Tom's d'Etat. The winner's share of the Stephen Foster purse lifted his earnings to $3,335,802 from a 7-6-7 record in 27 starts. He was bred in Kentucky out of the grade 3-winning Seeking the Gold mare Seeking the Title.
"He ran really well here the last time out, and we knew coming from Dubai he probably wasn't going to be 100%," Velazquez said. "Today he was right back to where he normally is, high energy. As soon as I broke out there and got into the first turn, he was a little more aggressive than I want him to be. He's never been that close in the first part of the race. But I got him back to where I wanted him to be, got comfortable where he was, and then down the stretch, pulling out, he had it."