Winning Colors: Clearly Unhinged rolls to first graded stakes
Stakes recap by Churchill Downs’ Kevin Kerstein (Coady Media/Kurtis Coady photo)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Monday, May 27, 2024) – Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings and Jarret Prussin’s speedy Clearly Unhinged scored her first graded stakes victory Monday, cruising to a 1 ½-length score in the 21st running of the $248,750 Winning Colors (Grade III) at Churchill Downs.
Ridden by Joel Rosario for trainer Steve Asmussen, Clearly Unhinged covered the six-furlong Winning Colors distance in 1:09.69. The win was Asmussen’s third in the race with prior victories coming in 2004 withLady Tak, 2015 with Street Story and last year with Echo Zulu.
Clearly Unhinged is 2 for 2 with Asmussen after racing in California last year.
The fleet-footed B G Warrior was sent hard out of the starting gate in the Winning Colors and blitzed a quarter-mile of :21.02. Rosario kept Clearly Unhinged just off the hip of B G Warrior through the torrid opening quarter-mile fraction. At the three-eighths pole, B G Warrior began to tire with Clearly Unhinged spurting to a 1 ½-length lead after a sharp half-mile of :44.34. Down the lane, favored Dazzling Blue tried hard to cut into the margin of Clearly Hinged but could only be second-best.
“Anytime you see a horse go 21 flat you get a little nervous,” Asmussen’s assistant trainer Scott Blasi said. “She’s a very talented filly and we’re very thankful John Sikura (owner of Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings) sent her to us. We’ll probably send her north to Saratoga this summer and hopefully get her to the Breeders’ Cup in November.”
Unsung Melody finished 1 ¼ lengths behind Dazzling Blue, winning a three-horse photo over Leeloo and Happy Am I. The trio was followed by Positano Sunset, Royal Spa and B G Warrior.
Sent off at odds of 2-1, Clearly Unhinged returned $6, $3.34 and $2.78. Dazzling Blue, under jockey Florent Geroux, paid $2.92 and $2.64. Unsung Melody, the longest shot on the board at 44-1, paid $7.48 for third with jockey Jaime Torres in the irons.
The Winning Colors was Clearly Unhinged’s fourth-lifetime win from nine starts. The 4-year-old filly has now banked purse earnings of $505,235.
Clearly Unhinged is a daughter of Into Mischief out of the Smart Strike mare Smart Win. She was bred in Kentucky by Rock Brothers Breeding.
Live racing will resume Thursday at Churchill Downs for another “Twilight Thursday” program and first post of 5 p.m. ET. For more information about racing and wagering from Churchill Downs, visit www.churchilldowns.com.
WINNING COLORS QUOTES
Joel Rosario (jockey, Clearly Unhinged, winner) – “She broke from the gate sharply and I just let her do her thing up the backside. We went pretty fast but she was doing it pretty much own her own. She really dug in down the lane to get the job done. I’m very proud of her performance.”
Scott Blasi (assistant trainer, Clearly Unhinged, winner) – “Anytime you see a horse go 21 flat you get a little nervous. She’s a very talented filly and very thankful John Sikura (owner of Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings) sent her to us. We’ll probably send her north to Saratoga this summer and hopefully get her to the Breeders’ Cup.”
Brad Cox (trainer, Dazzling Blue, second) – “We were just second best today. She ran a good race but couldn’t get to the winner.”
