Zia Park Distance had a longshot for a winner in the shape of McKenna’s Justice
When the favourites in a particular race are unable to sustain their efforts then the longshots prevail to take their place, and as the famous saying goes “When the race is on all bets are off “, being on the same lines, McKenna’s Justice, sent as the 17
to 1 longshot got the better of the $217,000 Zia Park Distance Championship favourites at Zia Park in New Mexico on 4 December, 2011.
The going got tough for McKenna’s Justice in the final furlong when he had Red Lead to contend with. The final stages of the race got all the more exciting when McKenna’s Justice rallied his way to catch Red Lead and then leave him behind to be the first
to hit the wire.
In the 1 1/8 mile event, Miguel Hernandez was onboard McKenna’s Justice, as the pair broke on top but the 4-year-old colt was pulled back to dwell in the mid pack.
In the eight horse field, McKenna’s Justice was settled into fifth. The moderate 5 to 2 favourite, Imco Spirit, then decided to take it head on as he cut himself loose from the pack and went on to set brisk fractions.
Imco Spirit made it to the half mile marker in 49.77 seconds and with his head down looked the on to go all the way, but with the quarter mile remaining, Imco Spirit’s strides weren’t that brisk and long as he weakened to finished sixth.
Hovering the field on the outside, McKenna’s Justice tracked Imco Spirit patiently, sizing up his run and predicting the next leader to take Imco Spirit’s place.
The 4-year-old son of Medaglia d’Oro went five wide on the second turn and made his bid to reel back Red Lead.
It wasn’t a smooth stretch rally in his quest to track down Red Lead, as McKenna’s Justice lugged during his run but went on gamely to win the race with the winning time of 1 minute and 50.56 seconds as Red Lead finished second and Vamoose turned in a third
place finish.
It was McKenna’s Justice’s fourth win out of 24 starts altogether, and with the Zia Park Distance Championship win, McKenna’s Justice has shot up his earnings to $233,147.
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