Went The Day Well could give Graham Motion the Preakness Stakes
When Barry Irwin spotted a New York bred in England, everyone thought that this colt has some potential, and to run under the banner of Team Valor International, Went The Day Well, was a secret sensation, who had lightly raced in England, and yet had to
prove his mettle over the American competition and race tracks going for the Kentucky Derby.
This year though, the Kentucky Derby field was an open one, but yet there were some serious favourites to take the 138th running of the Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs, and horses like Went The Day Well weren’t actually considered to spur
up a surprise of winning it or even gaining a placed finish.
Among many people, trainer Graham Motion must have been a little inquisitive or skeptical of Went The Day Well’s ability to run big, and probably the reason why he opted for a Derby route with Went The Day Well that he chose with last year’s Derby winner,
Animal Kingdom.
The result was a positive one, as he won his maiden special weight race at second asking, and off to Turfway Park for a massive win min the Grade 3 Spiral Stakes to get ready for the Derby.
The Spiral was on 24 March that allowed the son of Proud Citizen to rectify his mistakes and train and school well for the Derby.
Graham Motion did exactly that under a well drawn out plan, and the result was massive for the lightly raced colt, when he raced his heart out in a star studded lineup of seasoned campaigners and big winners to post a fourth place finish just behind I’ll
Have Another, Bodemeister, and Dullahan.
"I'm just amazed how this horse has handled everything," said Motion. "Everything has gone smoothly, knock on wood."
"I'm not sure seeing it that you get a true appreciation for the trouble that he had," said Motion. "Every time I've watched it, it amazes me how in a jump or two more, I think, he hits the board or finishes second."
That’s how close he came, but the middle jewel awaits this out of the ordinary colt, who has the ability to make those jumps or two in the cut back distance in the Preakness Stakes and make a name for himself.
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