by Joe Nevills

Graded stakes winner Inca King set an uncontested pace and earned his first stakes victory of the year in the $119,700 Opening Verse Handicap on Saturday at Churchill Downs.

The Sir Cat gelding set the pace on the inside, repelled a bid from Therecomesatiger heading into the stretch, and shook free while kept to task by Shaun Bridgmohan for a four-length victory. Inca King won the 1 1/16-mile race in 1:42.39 on firm turf.

Runner-up Seaside Retreat finished a half-length in front of third-place finisher Corrupt. Grade 1 winner Cloudy’s Knight stalked the pace but flattened out in the stretch and finished seventh.

Heiligbrodt Racing Stable’s Inca King earned his fifth stakes win, all on turf. Inca King is undefeated on the Churchill Downs turf course, winning three stakes races in as many starts, including the 2007 Jefferson Cup Stakes (G2).

The Steve Asmussen-trained Kentucky-bred is out of the unplaced Prized mare Inca Prize.

Joe Nevills is a Thoroughbred Times editorial intern