SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – Deterministic proved once again why he’s among the top turf milers in the country, surging past pacesetter My Boy Prince to win Saturday’s $750,000 FanDuel Fourstardave (G1) by 1 1/4 lengths at Saratoga. The victory secured an automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) on November 1 at Del Mar.
Owned by St. Elias Stable, Ken Langone, Steven Duncker, and Vicarage Stable, Deterministic has now won three straight races, including the Grade 1 Manhattan in June, which gave trainer Miguel Clement his first career Grade 1 win. Saturday marked the 7th victory from 13 starts for the versatile 4-year-old, who has excelled on both dirt and turf.
“This is great. It is very rewarding. He was my first Grade 1 winner. It’s a great day. He is top class,” Clement said. “He looked great. He has tactical speed so you can use it. He was moving very well. I think Kendrick was just waiting to make his move. When he went for it, he went big. The horse delivered. He is a top-class horse. He’s won on multiple surfaces over a wide range of distances. He makes us look good because he is top-class.”
Breaking from post 8 under Kendrick Carmouche, Deterministic tracked My Boy Prince through fractions of 23.83, 47.56, and 1:10.77 over a firm inner turf. As the field turned for home, Carmouche tipped his mount wide, reeled in the stubborn leader, and kicked clear to stop the clock in 1:33.87. Sent off at 9-2, he returned $11.20 to win.
“My horse broke very good like always. I saw Jose Ortiz ride his horse out of there pretty good, and once I looked around and I saw nobody that was within a length and a half behind me in the first quarter of a mile, I pressed the e-brake, just let him settle,” Carmouche said. “I thought when I turned on the backside, he had a horse run up on the backside of him, about a length and a quarter, and man, you can feel him – he [was] wanting to go and I say, ‘Oh, I’m OK, I can feel him.’
“I thought they went a pretty slow pace for these types of horses. Once I got to the turn, I let Jose’s horse switch leads and I just figured I should bring the race to him because my horse runs good around the turns,” he added. “He loves to hold horses off because he loves to feel it whenever they’re coming, so with that being said, I thought I’d done the right thing out there to make us a successful [team] today.”
Intellect rallied strongly to take second, three-quarters of a length ahead of Win for the Money, who nosed out My Boy Prince for third. Think Big, Cugino, Lagynos, Spirit of St Louis, Johannes, and Neat completed the order of finish. Favored Johannes endured early trouble and never factored, while Neat was pulled up after the wire but walked off in the equine ambulance as a precaution.
Bred in Kentucky by Hinkle Farms, Deterministic has earned just shy of $2 million with six graded stakes wins, including a track record in the Grade 2 Fort Marcy in May. The $625,000 Keeneland purchase won the Grade 3 Gotham on dirt last year before blossoming on turf.
Looking ahead, Clement said a prep in the Woodbine Mile (G1) (Sept. 13) or Coolmore Turf Mile (G1) (Oct. 4) is possible before the Breeders’ Cup.
“I’ll speak to the connections,” Clement said. “Let’s see how he comes out of it and then we’ll come up with a plan afterwards.”
