FRANKLIN, KY – Trainer Wesley Ward’s 1-2 combo of Outadore and Fauci completed the barn’s exacta in Saturday’s $500,000 Bal a Bali Juvenile Turf Stakes at Kentucky Downs.
Outadore broke from post 9 as the 9/5 favorite under Irad Ortiz, Jr., and settled into a two-wide stalking position in fourth; Fauci was close behind in fifth as the 2/1 second choice under Tyler Gaffalione.
Ahead of them, County Final posted opening fractions of :21.79 and :46.50 while Bodenheimer applied pressure to his outside.
Outadore was the first of the two stablemates to find the front end, grabbing the lead near the 1/8 pole as Fauci followed right behind.
Outadore crossed 1 3/4 lengths better than Fauci in a final time of 1:17.31 for the 6 1/2-furlong dash over the soft going.
“He’s a nice horse, a really nice horse,” Ortiz Jr. said. “He was ready today. He knew what he was doing. He broke and pulled me right there. He relaxed so nice, when I asked, he just went ahead. It felt like he had a little more in the tank today.”
Cowan nosed out County Final for third, while Bodenheimer faded to fifth behind them.
Petit Verdot, Perfect Mistake, Boss Bear, Baytown Bear, and Scorsese completed the order of finish.
Outadore’s victory followed a similarly impressive maiden-breaking debut at Saratoga on July 26. The Outwork colt, purchased for $290,000 a year ago, has now earned $334,100 for owner Breeze Easy.
“Very nice colt,” Ward said. “He took a little while with some minor shin issues, as most 2-year-olds do, so we gave him the time.”
Ward has now won all three editions of this race and was pleased with how both of his 2020 entries ran.
“I think both will go a little farther, which is nice as well,” he said. “I think they’ll both go a mile on the grass, no problem, so we’ll probably split them up in their next start … The way it looks, Irad said he was wanting more ground and was kind of waiting. First thing Tyler said was, ‘Wesley, please, run him farther.’ So we’re really excited about both colts.”
Outadore returned $5.60 to win, $3.40 to place, and $2.80 to show. Fauci brought back $3.20 to place and $3 to show, while Cowan paid $6.20 to show.
