Horse named for Dr. Fauci wins at Keeneland. ‘He’s a really, really good horse.’
A young Thoroughbred with a celebrity namesake broke his maiden during the second day of Keeneland’s five-day Summer Meet.
Fauci, a 2-year-old colt trained by Wesley Ward, notched his first career victory during his second career start in the opening race at the Lexington track on Thursday. Tyler Gaffalione steered the heavy favorite to a hard-fought victory in the 5 1/2-furlong, $70,000 turf contest.
Fauci was the 5-2 morning-line favorite but was bet down to 1-1 odds at post time, perhaps due to the cachet carried by his moniker.
Co-owner Phillip Antonacci named Fauci after Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, in March. Dr. Fauci has gained widespread fame in recent months because of his role in America’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, which caused the cancellation of Keeneland’s Spring Meet.
Fauci — the four-legged version — finished second in his debut at Belmont Park in New York in early June. After that race Antonacci said he chose the horse’s name as a tribute to Dr. Fauci who, like Antonacci, is an Italian-American from Brooklyn.
“We wanted to honor the service that he’s given to the whole world: beside COVID, fighting all the other (infections) his whole life,” Antonacci said. “Throughout the whole thing, he seemed like a voice that knew what was going on and, without trying to be too political, kind of calmed things and provided real data behind what was going on.”
The Thoroughbred has generated plenty of hype because of his handle, and after June’s runner-up finish Ward said he expected big things.
“He’s a really, really good horse,” Ward said. “Especially with the name that’s been assigned to him, you know that he’s got to live up to the name.”
Now, Fauci has made his first trip to the winner’s circle.
Dual upsets
A pair of double-digit long shots pulled off back-to-back upsets at Keeneland on Thursday.
In race No. 4, Embellisher went off at 12-1 and took an early lead then cruised to an easy 5-length score. In the following contest, 10-1 shot Kettle Valley rallied late in the stretch and edged second-place Osaka Girl and third-place Jen Take Charge at the wire.
Ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., it was the second career victory for Embellisher. The 4-year-old gelding broke his maiden last month at Churchill Downs. Kettle Valley’s win was also the second in the 4-year-old filly’s career and came in her first start of 2020.
A $1 Daily Double wager on the pair paid $151.20.
Unprecedented victory
A son of Triple Crown champion American Pharoah charged to victory in the feature race on the opening day of Keeneland’s unprecedented Summer Meet on Wednesday.
In the Cherry Valley, the eighth of nine races, Maven took an early lead and cruised to a 2 3/4-length victory over Johnny Unleashed.
Trained by Wesley Ward and ridden by Gerardo Corrales, Maven covered the 5 1/2 furlongs on turf in 1:03.02. The victory was the first for Corrales at Keeneland. Maven was making his 2020 debut following a 2-year-old campaign that included two starts in Europe, one of which resulted in a victory at Chantilly Racecourse in France.
Ward and Corrales also teamed to win Wednesday’s ninth race with Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s first-time starter Naughty Prince.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
This story was originally published July 9, 2020 at 3:47 PM.
