Ry’s the Guy Sets Track Record in Champions Day Marathon Victory

LOUISVILLE, KY – Lothenbach Stables’ Ry’s the Guy drove off in deep stretch to post a 4 3/4-length victory in the $115,400 Champions Day Marathon Overnight Stakes to kickoff Kentucky Derby week.

Trained by Ian Wilkes and ridden by Chris Landeros, Ry’s the Guy covered the mile and 1/2 on a fast main track in 2:29.58 to break the track record of 2:30.42 established in this race last year by Sonneteer.

Returning to the main track for the first time since June 2019, Ry’s the Guy dueled with Eskenforit through fractions of :25.09, :49.46, 1:14.79 and 1:39.34. At the head of the lane, Ry’s the Guy put away Eskenforit and then shrugged off a minor challenge from Rated R Superstar to post his first stakes victory.

Ry’s the Guy is a 4-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Distorted Humor out of the Royal Academy mare Sleepytime. The victory was worth $71,358 and improved Ry’s the Guy’s earnings to $356,769 with a record of 15-3-3-2.

“He ran good,” said winning trainer Ian Wilkes. “I can’t fault anything he did. Chris rode him good. It’s hard to know where you are going to be in races like this, so the main thing I told Chris was to just let him slide down the backside and not push him. He did a perfect job. He let him come off the bridle a bit and that helped him.”

Ry’s the Guy returned $4, $3 and $2.40. Rated R Superstar, ridden by Martin Garcia, returned $4.20 and $3.20 with Eskenforit finishing another 3 lengths back in third and paying $4.40 to show under Chantal Sutherland.

Sir Winston and Core Beliefs completed the field in order.