Dismissed in the wagering as the longest shot on the board at 68-1, Ike
Thrash’s CHIN HIGH (Smart Strike) closed determinedly in the stretch to upset
the $150,000
Transylvania S. (G3) on Friday, the opening day feature at Keeneland. With
Shaun Bridgmohan aboard, the Neil Pessin trainee finished the one-mile event in
1:37 4/5 on the firm turf, making good in his stakes debut.
As the eventual winner rated well back in the early stages, the 4-5 favorite
To Sender (GB) (King’s Best) engaged in a speed duel with In a Flash (Ire)
(Night Shift) through the first half-mile. In a Flash had his head in front
through splits of :22 1/5 and :46, then opened up by a length while getting
three-quarters in 1:11 4/5. Meanwhile To Sender threw in the towel and beat a
retreat, and Wherethewestbegins (Gone West) took over the second spot. Into the
stretch, In a Flash faded, Wherethewestbegins briefly held a narrow advantage,
the forwardly-placed Le Plaix (Fr) (Kingsalsa) began to make good progress along
the inside, and Chin High was finishing best of all on the outside. Inside the
final furlong, Chin High overhauled the leaders and ground out a one-length
margin at the line.
“Midway down the backside I nudged him a little and thought I’d give him a
little encouragement,” Bridgmohan said, “and he picked it up pretty good. It was
just a matter if I could have found any room for him because he had a little
momentum, and I didn’t want to get him stopped.”
Le Plaix stayed on for second, a half-length ahead of Wherethewestbegins. It
was another 1 1/4 lengths back to Unbridled Behavior (Unbridled’s Song) in
fourth, followed by In a Flash, Readily (More than Ready), Tompest (Storm Cat),
Dawn of War (Catienus), Indian Hawke (Indian Charlie) and To Sender, who trailed
in a distant last.
“He (To Sender) got hit from behind by another horse about 50 yards out of
the gate and never really relaxed after that,” his rider Alex Solis reported.
Chin High returned generous payoffs of $139, $62.60 and $17.60. With 24-1
longshot Le Plaix in second, returning $24.80 and $11.20, the exacta was worth
$1,239.20. Factor in the 8-1 Wherethewestbegins, who paid $7.20 to show, and the
trifecta ballooned to $12,907.80. Unbridled Behavior made it a clean sweep of
outsiders in fourth at 18-1, resulting in an astronomical $68,186.80 superfecta.
His odds notwithstanding, the winning trainer was not surprised by the
outcome.
“We’ve kind of been pointing to this spot for a while,” Pessin said. “When we
entered, we thought we had a big shot to win. We don’t own any of (Chin High’s)
family, so we weren’t looking to get stakes-placed.”
Bred by Sun Valley Farm in Kentucky, Chin High was produced by Grade 3 winner
Damie’s Sis (Sunny Clime). She has since foaled a juvenile filly named Damie’s
Peanut (Stravinsky) and a 2006 filly by Pure Prize.
In his start prior to the Transylvania, Chin High broke his maiden on the
dirt at Evangeline Downs. His record stands at 5-2-1-1, and his earnings have
soared to $118,190.