The Coach does it again: Seize the Grey takes PaDerby

By Paul Halloran, for Parx Racing (Jaime Torres winning the Pennsylvania Derby aboard Preakness winner Seize the Grey by Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO)

BENSALEM, Pa. – On Friday afternoon in a hotel lobby as legendary trainer D. Wayne Lukas discussed Seize the Grey’s chances in the Grade 1, $1 million betPARX Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing, it was suggested to him that it looked like his horse was going to the lead.

“If he does, he’s going to be very tough to beat,” Lukas said.

Never doubt ‘The Coach.’

Seize the Grey did indeed go to the lead and proved impossible to beat Saturday at Parx, holding off all comers to win by 3 3/4 lengths. It was a popular victory for his owners, partners in the MyRacehorse syndicate, several hundred of whom came to Parx for the race and were part of a winner’s circle presentation that needed to be moved onto the track to accommodate the masses.

In picking up his second Grade 1 win of the year, Seize the Grey improved his career record to 5-0-3 in 13 starts with more than $2.4 million in earnings.

“After the Preakness, it felt like an amazing moment and I was appreciative of it,” said Michael Behrens, founder and CEO of MyRacehorse, who brought the Preakness trophy to Parx. “I know lightning doesn’t strike more than once, but today it did and it’s starting to exceed expectations now.”

Saturday’s race was won in the same fashion as the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, with jockey Jaime Torres and Seize the Grey outrunning longshot Just Step On It to take the lead heading into the first turn. The son of Arrogate, who was bought for $300,000 as a yearling at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale of selected yearlings, led by a half-length through a quarter-mile in :23.89 and a half in :49.25.

Torres got a little breathing room, leading by a length through 6 furlongs in 1:13.81, as Unmatched Wisdom picked up the chase entering the far turn, with Santa Anita Derby winner Stronghold advancing on the outside and favorite Dragoon Guard making his move on the rail. Stronghold became the main threat, pulling even off the turn with every chance to run by, but Seize the Grey repelled his bid and pulled away late in the stretch.

Stronghold finished second by a head over Dragoon Guard. Seize the Grey, who paid $10.60 to win, covered the 9 furlongs in 1:51.89.

“I was very confident,” said the 89-year-old Lukas. “I have been that confident with him three times and all three times he won. I was very confident in the Preakness. I told my wife it was the best bet in the (21st) century. I feel like it is a combination of a lot of things. I have great help and great assistants. I am able to come here for five days and not worry about what is going on at Churchill. That little guy with the cowboy hat (assistant Miguel Flores) is invaluable.”

Torres said he didn’t expect to get the lead that easily, but he was happy to take it.

“I thought it would be more tough, but you have to come out and stick with the plan. If you can follow the plan that’s a good thing,” said Torres, who picked up the second Grade 1 win of his career. “You can expect something. You need to go with the plan and whatever might happen you make changes. He gave me the same feeling as the Preakness, the way he was moving and his ears. He was comfortable in there and I knew I was going to have a lot of horse at the end.”

Stronghold has finished out of the exacta only once in his nine-race career, a seventh in the Kentucky Derby.

“I thought he ran great,” trainer Phil D’Amato said. “It took a little energy to get out from the outside post and get in good position, but at the top of the lane I thought we were a winner. All the speed on paper didn’t show up today. And Wayne’s horse had a great trip and found another gear in the stretch. He was stabled in the same barn as me and Wayne had him looking great. He looked like a million bucks.”

Dragoon Guard, who was coming off wins in the Indiana Derby and West Virginia Derby for trainer Brad Cox, found himself sixth after a half, after going to the lead in his last three races.

“He didn’t get away good,” Cox said. “I thought it was his race for the taking. He ran a really good race. Forty-nine and 1 (for the half-mile), the horse that won the race, he got the trip and deserved it. He’s a multiple Grade 1 winner, a real horse. I still think I have a real horse. Big races like this, and a mile and an eighth and beyond, I’ve always been a big believer that you need to be very close or on the lead. Didn’t expect to be fifth or sixth early, I promise you that.”