March 29, 2024

Will Call returns to best form in Twin Spires Turf Sprint

The Twin Spires Turf Sprint (G3) was the first stakes win for Will Call (Coady Photography)

Will Call failed to show his best form last month in the Shakertown (G3) at Keeneland, but rebounded on a bigger stage Friday with a 1 1/4-length tally in the $200,000 Twin Spires Turf Sprint (G3) at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Oaks Day.

Ninth over soft ground in Lexington after a good-looking second in the $50,000 Colonel Power at Fair Grounds two back, Will Call wore down his rivals with an outside rally to score the minor upset under Shaun Bridgmohan. He paid $15.60 after covering five furlongs on firm ground in :56.68.

“He was training extremely well and I had a lot of confidence in him going into that Keeneland race,” trainer Brad Cox said. “For whatever reason, it just didn’t work out that day. But, he really showed up today. I really liked him coming into the race. His two works over this course have been fantastic. He broke off, settled and fired home, just like he did today. It was a huge effort.”

Kid Perfect, an 18-1 chance, edged second choice Bucchero for the place by a neck. Vision Perfect, the 2-1 favorite, ran sixth in the field of 10.

Owned by Richard Klein, who bred the four-year-old son of Country Day with his late father, Bert, Will Call now possesses a mark of 9-5-1-1 and boosted his career earnings to $232,521. The course-and-distance win can be considered a positive for later in the season as Churchill will host the 2018 renewal of the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1).

The Kentucky-bred is out of the stakes-winning Vote Early, by More Than Ready.