Godolphin Racing’s ASHKAL WAY (Ire) (Ashkalani) settled off the pace in
seventh, then launched a powerful move in the stretch to capture Friday’s
$400,000
Citation H. (G1) by a length. Garrett Gomez piloted the Saeed bin Suroor
charge through 1 1/16 miles on the firm turf in a stakes-record 1:39 3/5. While
collecting his first Grade 1 trophy, the four-year-old chestnut gelding returned
$9.80, $5 and $3.80 as the nearly 4-1 second choice in the 12-horse field.
In the early stages, a scramble erupted for the lead, with Sweet Return (GB)
(Elmaamul) narrowly ahead of Becrux (Ity) (Glen Jordan) through a quarter in :23
2/5. Silent Name (Jpn) (Sunday Silence) then charged past to take over, posting
splits of :46 2/5 and 1:09 3/5. At the top of the stretch, Ashkal Way angled to
the outside and burst past Silent Name. Longshot Hendrix (Sultry Song) came from
last to claim second on the line, a nose ahead of fellow closer Three Valleys
(Diesis [GB]), but neither challenged the supremacy of the winner.
Hendrix rewarded his supporters with payouts of $16.40 and $9.80 at 25-1,
while the 8-1 Three Valleys gave back $6 to show. The $1 exotics were worth
$93.90 (exacta), $711 (trifecta) and $3,877.50 (10-1-11-7 superfecta).
Cosmonaut (Lemon Drop Kid) ran evenly for fourth, a head in front of 9-5
favorite Rob Roy (Lear Fan). Silent Name, Becrux, Stormin Away (Skip Away),
Hendrix’s entrymate Courtnall (Cherokee Run), Sweet Return, Whilly (Ire) (Sri
Pekan) and Bravo Maestro (Stravinsky) completed the order of finish.
Now six for seven since coming to the United States, Ashkal Way boasts an
overall mark of 16-8-3-2 with a bankroll to the tune of $753,580. He’s riding a
three-race winning streak, having taken the Kelso Breeders’ Cup H. (G2) and
Bernard Baruch H. (G2) in his past two. Prior to that, he rallied for a
commendable second in the Fourstardave H. (G2), and in his American stakes bow,
he posted a course record-setting score in the Elkwood S. at Monmouth Park.
The chestnut began his career in England, and after finishing fifth in his
lone start as a juvenile for horseman Ed Dunlop, he was sold to trainer Brian
Ellison for 20,000 guineas at the 2004 Doncaster Horses in Training Sale.
Although he never tackled stakes company as a three-year-old, Ashkal Way did
stamp himself as an improving type when scoring in the Totescoop 6, a Heritage
Handicap at Beverley, last August. Indeed, he caught the attention of the
Maktoum family and was privately acquired in the autumn of 2005. He raced once
in the colors of Sheikh Hamdan at Nad al Sheba in February, closing for third in
a handicap at Nad al Sheba, then was transferred to the Godolphin umbrella and
shipped to the United States.
The first registered foal from the winning Cadeaux Genereux mare Golden Way,
Ashkal Way hails from the family of multiple stakes winner Polish Spring (Ire)
(Polish Precedent) and French stakes victor and Group 3-placed Go Boldly
(Sadler’s Wells). Descending from Goofed (*Court Martial), the dam of renowned
sire Lyphard, this female line has also produced such stars as last year’s
Travers S. (G1) hero Flower Alley (Distorted Humor) and track record-setting
Washington Park H. (G2) winner Suave (A.P. Indy).