Heart to Heart Leads All the Way to Win Maker’s 46 Mile Before Record Keeneland Friday Crowd of 28,307

By Amy Owens —-

Click here for a video of all the fun and racing excitement today at Keeneland

Heart to Heart Leads All the Way to Win Maker’s 46 Mile
Before Record Keeneland Friday Crowd of 28,307

LEXINGTON, KY (April 13, 2018) – Terry Hamilton’s Heart to Heart, who finally got a Grade 1 victory on his eighth try at the level, wasted no time getting his second as he led all the way to win the 30th running of the $300,000 Maker’s 46 Mile (G1) for older horses by 1¾ lengths before a record Friday afternoon crowd of 28,307. The previous Friday attendance mark was 24,734, established April 2, 2010.

Trained by Brian Lynch and ridden by Julien Leparoux, Heart to Heart covered the mile on a firm turf course in 1:34.71. The performance marked the first victory in the race for Lynch and second for Leparoux, who won in 2010 on Karelian.

The victory was worth $180,000 and increased Heart to Heart’s earnings to $1,917,290 with a record of 35-15-5-3 with 11 of the victories coming in graded stakes.

Heart to Heart, second in this race the past two years, is a 7-year-old Canadian-bred son of English Channel out of the Silver Deputy mare Ask the Question.

Heart to Heart won the race to the first turn from Frostmourne, Ballagh Rocks and Om and set fractions of :24.07, :47.90 and 1:11.77 while getting only token pressure from Om.

At the head of the stretch, Heart to Heart kicked clear and raced home with no challengers posing a serious threat.

Heart to Heart returned $8.40, $4.40 and $3.20. Ballagh Rocks, ridden by Luis Saez, returned $5 and $3.80 and finished a half-length in front of Forge (GB), who paid $5.40 to show under Joel Rosario.
Om finished another nose back in fourth and was followed in order by Frostmourne, Mr. Misunderstood, Next Shares, Tower of Texas and Hogy.

Racing continues Saturday with an 11-race program beginning at 1:05 p.m. ET. Four stakes are included on the card, headlined by the 30th running of the $350,000 Coolmore Jenny Wiley (G1) for fillies and mares that goes as the 10th race with a 6:12 p.m. post time.

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Quotes from the $300,000 Maker’s 46 Mile (G1)

Brian Lynch (winning trainer of Heart to Heart)

“He just never stops giving. Julien (Leparoux) is just a great fit with him. I think that was probably one of his best performances here today. You always worry about the Keeneland stretch; it’s so long. We’re always looking for the wire before it gets there. But today, when he broke clear, I thought someone’s going to have to burst out of the pack to get him. He was on his game. We loved the way he trained coming into it, and we really felt like he was the best we’ve had him. He certainly showed it today.”

On Heart to Heart improving with age

“I just think maturity with racing. He’s just become a much stronger horse. He’s not a very big horse, but this year he’s put on an enormous amount of weight, and he’s just become that much bigger and stronger. He’s got a little more stamina to him, and we’re seeing it in his races.”

Julien Leparoux (rider of Heart to Heart)

“He deserves to win this race. He had a couple of tough beats at Keeneland (finishing second in this race the past two years). He’s a nice horse; everybody loves him. He’s a cool horse to be around. Last time (out), he got his first Grade 1 (win in the Gulfstream Park Turf on Feb. 10), which was very special, but to get a Grade 1 at Keeneland is even more special.”

Luis Saez (rider of runner-up Ballagh Rocks)

“The pace was a little slow in front. I thought there would be more speed in front. I was following the (eventual) winner early and I did not want to put pressure on him so I had to wait. When we turned into the stretch, my horse responded but the winner was taking off. I had a clear run, but the winner was already gone.”

Joel Rosario (rider of third-place finisher Forge [GB])

“I had a perfect trip. He broke well (Trainer) Bill (Mott) told me he wanted me to make one run. He handled everything fine. When that horse (Heart to Heart) gets to the lead, he’s tough to beat. (Heart to Heart) ran a monster race – that was a very fast time. I thought for a second we were maybe going to get up for second – he was trying very hard, but the one on the inside (Ballagh Rocks) was tough too. But he ran well, he did everything I asked him to do.”

Flavien Prat (rider of fourth-place finisher Om)

“He broke well and was strong. The first part of the race, he relaxed and I thought I’d be able to sit off the pace. Then down the backside he started getting aggressive. Turning for home, I didn’t feel like I had very much (horse) but then by the eighth pole, he re-engaged. He ran a good fourth.”

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For more than 80 years, the Keeneland Association has devoted itself to the health and vibrancy of the Thoroughbred industry. As the world’s largest Thoroughbred auction company, Keeneland conducts sales every January, September and November. Its sales graduates dominate racing across the globe at every level. In April and October, Keeneland offers some of the highest caliber and richest Thoroughbred racing in the world. In 2015, Keeneland hosted the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. Uniquely structured, Keeneland is a private, for-profit corporation that returns its earnings to the industry and the community in the form of higher purses, and it has donated millions of dollars in charitable contributions for education, research and health and human services throughout Central Kentucky.

Cover Photo: Heart to Heart; Keeneland Photos

On Saturday, Keeneland will offer a Pick 6 carryover of $38,649.