Race Recap: Desperado’s Walk That Line Scores First Grade 1

When Walk That Line roared from the back of the pack late and scored her first grade 1 win of her career in the Grade 1 Reckless Memorial in South Korea this weekend, the magnitude of that win was not lost on her trainer.

“To say I expected to win would be a lie,” said Desperado, who owns and trains Walk That Line, a five year old daughter of Street Cry. “It was great to beat a champion in Neo Forty, an Eclipse finalist in Weary Kind, and a likely Eclipse finalist in Explosive Sky.”

Des was not kidding when he talked about the star-studded field in the Grade 1 Reckless Memorial, a nine-furlong turf race for fillies and mares worth $500,000.

There were no less than six grade 1 winners in the field of 13. Make that seven now that Walk That Line has her first grade 1 win in only her second graded start of her career. And three in the field of 13 were millionaires, plus.

“She has been in good form, once I figured out her right distance,” said Des. “In this game, a change in a half a furlong can make all the difference.”

It certainly made all the difference in the world to Walk That Line this weekend.

With jockey A. Hudson in the irons, Walk That Line watched from far back as the anticipated early speed duel developed on the front end between 2011 Eclipse Award winner Neo Forty and long shot Invading Hammer.

When Invading Hammer tired and Neo Forty looked like she was starting to be cooked around the six- or seven-furlong marker, Hudson cranked up Walk That Line, who was near the back of the pack, in tenth place, some six lengths off the lead.

When Hudson asked the five year old daughter of Street Cry, Walk That Line roared up into contention, passing horse after horse, crossing the line first in a stakes record time of 1:47.01. She scored a 115 speed figure in the race, the highest of her career 22 starts.

“I have another horse, a grade 2 winner, that is Street Cry x Northern Dancer x Secretariat. I am a big fan of classical back ends, and an even bigger fan of Street Cry, hence the breeding I put together, from scratch (for Walk That Line),” said Des.

With Northern Dancer and Alydar behind Street Cry, it has indeed turned into a potent combination in Walk That Line’s pedigree.

On Another Level, who is owned and trained by Blazingsad, also came from far back to get up for second, a length and ¾ behind Walk That Line.

The 6-9 exacta with Walk That Line and On Another Level paid a whopping $234.90. And the 6-9-4 trifecta, with Cold World third, paid a staggering $2,047.50 Saturday afternoon in the main event on the South Korean racing card.

The top three finishers were all hanging near the back of the pack in the Reckless Memorial this weekend.

The top three took advantage of some pretty hot early fractions set by Neo Forty, who won the Eclipse Award in 2011.  Neo Forty, the 5-1 favorite in the Reckless Memorial, ran the six furlongs in a pretty blistering 1:09 and change, before she faded to sixth, behind Haack’s Machine and Weary Kind, who finished fourth and fifth, respectively.