Proven Innocent guilty of first G1 win. (Adam Coglianese/NYRA)
By Mary Eddy
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The third time was the charm for Bruton Street-US’s Proven Innocent in Grade 1 company as the 7-year-old Blame gelding notched his first top-level score in Wednesday’s $150,000 Beverly R. Steinman, a 2 3/8-mile steeplechase test for older horses, on Opening Day of the five-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by Hall of Famer Jack Fisher, who also trained third-place finisher Awakened, Proven Innocent landed the win after two other attempts at Grade 1 level, his best previous finish a fourth last out in the 2 1/8-mile Commonwealth Cup on May 3 at Great Meadow on the heels of a third in the Good Night Shirt on April 26 at Foxfield. In victory, he improved his record at this distance to 3-for-4.
“This will make me a champion for about 30 minutes, then I’m the guy who won the first race, not the second race, but it is good to have two horses,” Fisher said of winning the first race of the Festival. “The more horses you’ve got, the more chances you have, I think, especially being picked one-two on the morning line.”
Ridden to victory by Freddie Procter, Proven Innocent utilized an off-the-pace trip on his way to victory, sitting in last-of-7 early as the Paddy O’Hanlon-piloted Carloun sprinted to the front to blitz through the early furlongs. Little Trilby was a clear second through the stretch for the first time with the remainder of the field close together exiting the clubhouse turn for the first time over the firm footing.
Carloun held a monstrous 15-length advantage heading into the backstretch but fell at the fifth fence as Sultan Pierji closed in on Little Trilby to make it a more compact group through the far turn for the second time. The field crept closer to Little Trilby through the final full lap, and the leader was soon overtaken by foes heading into the last turn, with the Fisher-trained Awakened on the inside and Evie’s Prince and Proven Innocent on the outside.
The top trio went head-to-head into the stretch in a thrilling final furlong before Evie’s Prince briefly stuck his head in front of Awakened, but there was no denying the steady grind of Proven Innocent on the far outside as he edged clear in the final jumps to win by three-quarter-lengths in a final hand time of 4:39.20.
Carloun was collared by the outrider and provided a ride back to his barn in the equine ambulance. O’Hanlon walked off under his own power.
Fisher said he was pleased to see Proven Innocent prevail as Awakened was overtaken in the stretch.
“I thought at the [top] of the stretch it was going to be Awakened, but he faded, so it was ‘Come on Proven! Come on Proven! Get up,” Fisher said. “He got up, so that was good.”
Procter, aboard for the first time in the afternoon, said he anticipated sitting well behind a hot pace.
“Looking at the race card, Carloun was always going to go out hard and it was always going to be a pretty brutal pace from the start, so I was more than happy to sit out the back, take a lead and just try to smuggle him into it,” Procter said. “The race changed completely when Carloun fell. We were a few lengths behind, so we had to dodge Paddy [O’Hanlon] and the horse trying to get back up and everyone got shuffled around. It broke everyone’s rhythm a little bit, so we had to get into a jumping rhythm again. Down the back, I sat there thinking ‘not too soon, not too soon,’ but they gave me a lovely lead into the stretch and when I pressed go, he dug deep.”
Fisher added Proven Innocent will “probably” target the Grade 1, $150,000 A.P. Smithwick Memorial on July 23 at the Spa next.
Bred in Kentucky by Stuart S. Janney, III, Proven Innocent was a maiden-winner on the flat in 2021 for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey before moving to jumps in the spring of 2022. He boasts four additional wins over hurdles, including the William Entenmann novice stakes in September 2022 at Belmont Park. The half-brother to multiple graded stakes-winning millionaires Ironicus and On Leave banked $90,000 in victory while returning $11.60 on a $2 win bet.
