Hot Rod Charlie Edges Rich Strike in Lukas Classic

By: Blood Horse

Photo Credit:  Coady Photography

Hot Rod Charlie Edges Rich Strike in Lukas Classic

The 2021 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner just missed against older horses Oct. 1.

Two colts who previously brought cheers from the Churchill Downs faithful when competing in separate editions of Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) put on another show beneath the Twin Spires, this time together in the $498,000 Lukas Classic (G2) Oct. 1.

This time, it was Hot Rod Charlie , beaten in the 2021 Derby, who came out narrowly on top over Rich Strike , whose name hangs in victorious Kentucky Derby signage above the Churchill Downs paddock. Hot Rod Charlie, eventual runner-up in the 2021 Derby after the disqualification of Medina Spirit, prevailed by a nose over Rich Strike, who scored a stunning 80-1 upset in the Run for the Roses this spring.

That Derby victory no longer appears stunning after Rich Strike ran fourth in the Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1) this summer at Saratoga Race Course and after fully testing Hot Rod Charlie, one of the top older horses in training, with his Saturday run.

But Hot Rod Charlie, who fell about a half-length behind Rich Strike with a sixteenth of a mile remaining after holding the lead in early stretch, battled back under Tyler Gaffalione to notch his first graded stakes win in the United States this year.

The winner, ridden by Tyler Gaffalione and trained by Doug O’Neill, clocked 1 1/8 miles over a fast track in 1:49.77 for owners Roadrunner Racing, Boat Racing, Bill Strauss, and Gainesway Thoroughbreds. He pressed the pace of Art Collector , as that one set moderate fractions of :23.55, :47.94, and 1:11.97, before taking the lead early in the lane. He paid $4.66 to win for a $2 wager.

“Tyler gave him a great ride,” O’Neill said. “He’s one of those type of horses that I’d love to have blinkers on him for half the race and take them off for the other half. It was an incredible effort. Rich Strike ran a winning race as well. He ran huge.

“(Hot Rod Charlie) is a great horse and we’re so lucky to have him.”

Earlier in 2022, Hot Rod Charlie, a 4-year-old son of Oxbow  , came out on the short end of photo finishes, finishing second, beaten a nose, to Express Train  in the San Antonio Stakes (G2) in February, and runner-up once again when edged by a head in the Salvator Mile Stakes (G3) at Monmouth Park.

But this year was still been a highly profitable one, including a win in the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 Presented By The Longines Record (G2), a second in the Dubai World Cup Sponsored By Emirates Airline (G1), and a third-place finish in the Whitney Stakes (G1).

“Doug and his team really had him ready to run today,” Gaffalione said. “We broke well and he doesn’t really have to be asked to get into a good spot. He really never gave up on me. (Rich Strike) ran a huge effort and my horse just kept on fighting the entire way. He really didn’t want to get beat.”

Hot Rod Charlie’s win Saturday was his most courageous since his 3-year-old season, when he scored at the grade 1 level and twice placed in classics. After the Derby, in which he was third across the wire behind the eventually disqualified Medina Spirit and Mandaloun  , he later ran second to champion Essential Quality   in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1).

In a race decided by inches, an outcome track announcer Travis Stone called “desperately close,” Rich Strike seemed to relax somewhat upon making the lead at the sixteenth pole. He could have also grown a bit fatigued after racing closer to the leaders than usual in a race with little speed. He was just two lengths off the early leaders after a half-mile in the Lukas Classic.

Jockey Sonny Leon, his silks partially filled with air, implored his mount to finish the race off with left-handed strikes in the closing sixteenth while simultaneously working to maintain his balance as his saddle may have slipped to the left. The effort was nearly enough in the colt’s first race against older horses, but in the end, fell short by mere inches.

Had Rich Strike finished first, he could have been at risk of disqualification with Leon’s left elbow making contact with Hot Rod Charlie and Gaffalione. Rich Strike came inward under Leon’s late urging.

Few of Rich Strike’s 3-year-old counterparts among the divisional leaders have raced against their elders.

“It’s a tough beat, but we are so proud of the step forward our horse took today,” trainer Eric Reed said. “It was a big ask of him to run against these type of older horses, and he proved he is just as talented. He was a little bit closer to the pace today, but he was still able to fight hard to the wire.”

Longshot King Fury  rallied up the rail to grab third, ahead of Happy Saver  in fourth. Art Collector weakened to fifth, and Chess Chief  was sixth. The Lukas Classic had four grade 1 winners in its short lineup (Hot Rod Charlie, Rich Strike, Happy Saver, and Art Collector).

Bred by Edward A. Cox Jr. out of the Indian Charlie  mare Indian Miss , Hot Rod Charlie is a half brother to Mitole  , winner of the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) and the champion male sprinter of that year. Five of the dam’s six foals to start are winners. Her unraced foals are a yearling colt by Into Mischief   and an Instagrand   colt born this year.

Hot Rod Charlie was bought for $110,000 by bloodstock agent Dennis O’Neill, the trainer’s brother, from the Small Batch Sales consignment at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale. Saturday’s win moved his earnings to over $5.5 million, with a 5-5-4 record in 18 starts.