Final Score stretches for the win. (Courtney Snow/Past The Wire)
Victory earned a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1)
Win gives Pletcher sixth Castle & Key
Keeneland Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Final Score, who dueled through a pressured pace, held off all pursuers in the stretch to post a 1¼-length victory in the Castle & Key Bourbon (G2) for 2-year-olds and earned a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) on Oct. 31 at Del Mar.
Trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., Final Score covered the mile and a sixteenth over a firm turf course in 1:42.51. The victory was the sixth for Pletcher in the race following Mutasaabeq (2020), Current (2018), Interactif (2009), Bittel Road (2008) and Twilight Meteor (2006).
It was the third Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Fall Star Weekend victory for Pletcher, who saddled Tommy Jo to win Friday’s Darley Alcibiades (G1) and Ted Noffey for Saturday’s Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity (G1).
Final Score dueled with Casa Cielo through fractions of :22.51, :47.69 and 1:12.89. On the far turn, a number of challengers closed in only to have Final Score find another gear to open a daylight advantage in the stretch with enough left to hold off Turf Star.
Final Score is a Kentucky-bred son of Not This Time out of the Bernardini mare Precious Dixie. A winner of three of four races, Final Score has earned $397,550.
Sent off as the favorite, Final Score returned $4.82, $3.52 and $3.18. Turf Star, ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, returned $8.98 and $7.36 and finished 1¼ lengths in front of Gordon Pass, who paid $15.38 to show under Cristian Torres.
It was another head back to Dr. Agne, who was followed in order by Exonerate, Awesome Connection, J J Grey, Blinging It Back, Vintur, Repentless, Password and Casa Cielo.
Racing resumes Wednesday with an eight-race program beginning at 1 p.m. ET.
Keeneland will offer a Super Hi Five carryover of $50,245.
Quotes from the $400,000 Castle & Key Bourbon (G2) at Keeneland
Irad Ortiz Jr. (winning rider of Final Score): “He showed speed before but not this kind of speed. I thought it was a little more speed than he would have in the race. I thought we were going to be right behind the speed, but he broke so good and put me in a good position without asking too much. I had talked to the trainer (Todd Pletcher) and he said, ‘If he’s on the lead, fine; let him go.’
“He went a little faster than I wanted, but he got the job done. He deserves a lot of credit. He was a little aggressive going into the first turn, but on the backside, he switched off really nice. After that, I just bided my time turning for home. Then when we were in the straight, I asked him to go, and he gave me a good turn of foot.”
Tyler Gaffalione (rider of runner-up Turf Star): “Everything went to plan. I just had to sit in there a little bit longer than I’d like to. Irad (Ortiz Jr. on eventual winner Final Score) was riding really patient. He gave me a really good run down the lane, then as soon as we got out, he found another stride and really extended himself well. I thought it was a great effort.”
Cristian Torres (rider of third-place finisher Gordon Pass): “The horse ran great. I saved all the ground I wanted. The plan was, I talked to (trainer) Will (Walden), and the plan was just to save as much as possible. He’s a horse that is still learning. He’s run twice, just in Indiana, so first time running against a lot better horses. Our plan was to break, let him sit, relax and make a run at the ending. He responded. He finished up real nice.”
