In a three-way battle it would be Committee of One (#6 outside) by a nose over Amidst Waves (#2) a neck ahead of Shards (#1 rail). (Courtney Snow/Past The Wire)
Presented by Keeneland Select
Keeneland Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. – In the Indian Summer Presented by Keeneland Select, Committee of One earned his first career victory in dramatic fashion by outdueling the favorite, the filly Amidst Waves, by a nose.
Trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Cristian Torres, Committee of One completed the 5½ furlongs on a firm turf course in 1:02.40. The victory was the first at Keeneland for Torres and the second in the Indian Summer for Asmussen, who won last year with Private Creed.
Riparound shot out to a quick lead in the field of 10 with a first quarter-mile in :21.40 as Committee of One and Amidst Waves raced near the back of the pack. Riparound maintained her advantage until midstretch, when the pack closed in with Committee of One getting a clear run on the outside while Amidst Waves had to weave through traffic.
A Keeneland sales graduate, Committee of One is a Kentucky-bred son of Mendelssohn out of the Smart Strike mare Sweetest Sounds. The victory was worth $145,313 and increased Committee of One’s earnings to $190,713 with a record of 3-1-2-0.
Committee of One returned $17.34, $6.22 and $4.42. Amidst Waves, ridden by John Velazquez, returned $3.76 and $2.96 and finished a neck in front of Shards, who paid $4.70 to show under Adam Beschizza.
It was another 4 lengths back to Cowes, who was followed in order by Fairhopecurly, Bledsoe, Sponge Bath, Riparound, Pinotslilgirl and Candymaker.
Quotes from the $250,000 Indian Summer (L) Presented by Keeneland Select
Cristian Torres (winning rider of Committee of One)
“I had a very nice trip. I knew there was a lot of speed in the race. I was very confident with him and comfortable where he was traveling. As soon as we passed the three-eighths (pole), I asked him to pick it up, and he picked it up beautiful. Down the lane he just kept coming, and he got the job done.”
Steve Asmussen (winning trainer)
“I like the outcome of this (photo finish). Obviously, yesterday in the TCA (Thoroughbred Club of America-G2, with runner-up Wicked Halo), we weren’t on the right end of that, and I was thinking, ‘Two days in a row, two that close wouldn’t be good.’ Obviously very different emotion coming out on the right side of that. He’s a lovely horse who’s getting better. I thought (jockey) Cristian (Torres) gave him a wonderful trip today, and when he pulled him out and asked him to accelerate, he looked very good to the wire.”
On moving toward the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint-G1 as he did with Private Creed in 2022:
“It’s very similar: Private Creed last year (won the Indian Summer) and then came back (to run third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint). The difference is the travel. This horse has run three times on three different race tracks. He’s very mature for his age, takes everything really well, and we’re excited about the opportunity.”
John Velazquez (rider of runner-up Amidst Waves)
“She broke a little slow and I kind of had to work my way through. Got out in time – the other horse had the momentum on me. I think that was the difference.”
Adam Beschizza (rider of third-place finisher Shards)
“I was a little bit run off my feet early. He gathered himself pretty well, I was just following George Weaver’s horse (Amidst Waves) the whole way around. I asked (Shards) to make up a lot of ground. In all fairness to him, he picked up very well. He’s probably going to be more of a 6-furlong horse. These horses are pretty fast on paper. The speed we were going to go was supersonic early. I think (trainer) Kelsey (Danner) has got a nice colt on her hands here.”
Racing resumes Wednesday with an eight-race program that begins at 1 p.m. ET.
