by Tim Nichols
Kodiak Kowboy unleashed a determined rally in the stretch and nipped game runner-up Desert Key by a head to win the $150,000 Amsterdam Stakes (G2) on Monday at Saratoga Race Course.
The Posse colt overtook the 1.70-to-1 favorite in the final 20 yards after the two horses separated themselves from the pack in early stretch and dueled through the final furlong.
Kodiak Kowboy completed the 6½-furlong race for three-year-olds in 1:15.56 on a track rated as fast for trainer Larry Jones. Based at Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Maryland, Jones took over training duties of Kodiak Kowboy from former trainer Steve Asmussen after a second-place finish in the Derby Trial Stakes on April 26 at Churchill Downs.
“I have to give credit to Steve [Asmussen],” said Jones, who brought a string of horses to Saratoga for the meet. “He was already pointed to this race. All I had to do was not mess it up.”
Desert Key set a speedy pace and led Eaton’s Gift by a half-length after covering a quarter-mile in :21.79. He extended his advantage to a 1 ½ lengths through a scorching half-mile in :44.19.
Jockey Gabriel Seaz rated Kodiak Kowboy in fourth after a quarter-mile. Kodiak Kowboy, the 2.05-to-1 second choice, moved a half-length behind Desert Key after a half-mile. He launched a sweeping four-wide bid on the backstretch to get into contention and outdueled Desert Key in the final strides to seal the win.
Desert Key was 4 ½ lengths clear of third-place finisher Devereux.
Jones said Kodiak Kowboy could make his next start in the $250,000 King’s Bishop Stakes (G1) on August 23 on the Travers Stakes Presented by Shadwell Farm (G1) undercard.
“Kodiak Kowboy needed this race since it had been a while since he had run,” Jones said. “The King’s Bishop is our target.”
Jones won the King’s Bishop last year with 2007 Kentucky Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) runner-up Hard Spun.
Kodiak Kowboy, owned by Vinery Stables and Fox Hill Farm, is out of the unraced Coronado’s Quest mare Kokadrie. He picked up his second career Grade 2 win and increased his earnings to $684,058.
Bred in Kentucky by Hartwell Farm, Kodiak Kowboy was named Canada’s champion two-year-old colt in 2007.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
Tim Nichols is a Thoroughbred Times assistant daily news editor