Paddy O’Prado proved he got his groove back with a well-deserved victory in the Colonial Turf Cup at Colonial Downs.
The three-year-old, who ran to third in the Kentucky Derby and made sixth place in the Preakness Stakes, treated jockey Kent Desormeaux to an excellent ride on Saturday, covering a distance of over a mile in 1:54.20.
Trainer Dale Romans travelled to New Kent Virginia to see his charge perform in the Colonial Turf Cup and was delighted to the Paddy O’Prado leave the field behind to win the lion’s share of the $500,000 purse.
From the start of the race Paddy O’Prado and Desormeaux stayed close to the leaders, Two Notch Road, Kindergarden Kid and Working For Hops. Top Notch Road was leading for most of the first mile, keeping up an impressive pace but never quite shaking Working For Hops and Paddy O’Prado. Kindergarden Kid gave in to the gruelling pace before the final turn and succumbed to the will of Doubles Partner who beat him to fourth place; Paddy O’Prado however, thanks to the outstanding guidance of Desormeaux, saved his energy for the home stretch and bolted for glory on the far side on the final lengths of the track.
Speeding up considerably, the three-year-old pulled away from the field at a break-neck pace and recorded his first victory since winning the Grade 3 Palm Beach Stakes at Gulfstream Park this March. Romans was pleased to see his student reclaiming his status as one of the finest three-year-old runners of the season.
Romans is now planning to run his colt at the Virginia Derby at Arlington Park on August 21st.
If you would like to back the comeback king in his next endeavour, check out the odds on Sportsbook.com closer to the race date for convenient and easy to use online betting services.
