War Seek(KY) cruises to victory in Water Heather(IRE) Memorial

War Seek(KY) did more than threaten late, she took control of the last three furlongs to post an impressive four length victory in this week’s Water Heather(IRE) Memorial. The four year old mare out of War Chant extended her winning streak to four while grabbing her first stakes victory of the year, and the third of her career. She now has twelve wins in her thirty one career starts, and has amassed $327140 in earnings. Her first stakes victory in fourteen months puts her back on the map in the Older Female Long Division, giving her a ranking of 140 after the race. I hope the handicappers listened to my advice this week and held on to their money, because payouts in this one were slim to say the least. The winner paid $4.40 $2.50 $2.10 across the board. The exotics can only be termed as dismal, with a $5.10 payout in the exacta, and a meager $5.70 in the trifecta.

As predicted, Otto Capital took control of the pace early, getting out to a decent lead while Theatrical Fog(IRE) and War Seek(KY) engaged in a pitched battle just off the pace. At first call, Otto Capital had three lengths on the dueling mares and she managed to extend it to four and a half as they crossed the halfway mark, with Theatrical Fog(IRE) and War Seek(KY) still battling for any kind of advantage behind her. As they crossed into the second half, though, Theatrical Fog(IRE) threw in the towel, fading quickly, allowing War Seek(KY) to concentrate on the front runner and slowly begin to close the gap. Otto Capital still held nearly two lengths at third call, but she was visibly beginning to tire, while War Seek(KY) still looked as fresh as she had when she broke from the gate. As they crossed the ten furlong marker and headed into the stretch, War Seek(KY) slid past the flagging leader, and cruised easily down the stretch to notch the four length victory, followed home by Otto Capital. Theatrical Fog(IRE) managed to hold on to a third place finish, seventeen and a half lengths out at the wire.