Zulu Alpha Runs Down Favored Arklow to Win Sycamore

By Amy Owens —-

LEXINGTON, KY (Oct. 18, 2018) – Michael Hui’s Zulu Alpha slipped through along the inside rail at the sixteenth pole to get the lead from favored Arklow and went on to a 2-length victory in the 24th running of the $100,000 Sycamore (G3) for 3-year-olds and up before a Thursday afternoon crowd of 10,431.

Trained by John Ortiz and ridden by Channing Hill, Zulu Alpha covered the 1½ miles on a turf course labeled as good in 2:34.21. The victory was the first graded stakes triumph for Ortiz.

Final Copy raced off to an uncontested lead with Zulu Alpha in closest pursuit through early fractions of :26.54 and :52.64. Going into the second turn, Arklow moved up to challenge Final Copy with the latter maintaining a narrow edge until the final turn when Arklow pushed to the front.

Hill, who won his third Keeneland graded stakes, angled off the rail from fourth place at the head of the lane and then ducked back to the inside for clear sailing en route to the victory.

Claimed out of his most recent start last month at Churchill Downs for $80,000, Zulu Alpha is a 5-year-old Kentucky-bred gelded son of Street Cry (IRE) out of the A.P. Indy mare Zori. The $60,000 winner’s share boosted his earnings to $237,734 with a record of 20-6-3-4. It is his first stakes victory.

Zulu Alpha returned $16.20, $7.40 and $5. Arklow, ridden by Florent Geroux, returned $3.80 and $2.60 and finished 2¼ lengths in front of Bigger Picture, who paid $3.60 to show under Tyler Gaffalione.
Final Copy finished another neck back in fourth and was followed in order by Some in Tieme (BRZ), Harlan Strong (ARG), Can’thelpbelieving (IRE), Oscar Nominated, Nessy, Campaign and Slickly Done.
Racing continues Friday with a 10-race program beginning at 1:05 p.m. ET. The feature is the 28th running of the $150,000 Pin Oak Valley View (G3) for 3-year-old fillies going 1 1/16 miles on the turf. The Pin Oak Valley will be the ninth race with a 5:30 p.m. post time.

Quotes from the $100,000 Sycamore (G3)

Click here for a replay of the race and the post-race interview with the winning connections

John Ortiz (winning trainer of Zulu Alpha)
On why he claimed the gelding in his most recent race on Sept. 14 at Churchill
“I enjoyed watching him. He runs really big every time he runs, especially his last three starts. Right now I’m speechless and very thankful.”
“I was very happy with where he was early on in the race and throughout the whole race. I got a little concerned down the stretch because it looked like it was going to get a little tight up the rail. But Channing (Hill) knew what he was doing. He got him through. I’m just happy.”

Channing Hill (winning rider of Zulu Alpha)
On whether he was concerned Arklow would take the lead down the stretch the first time
“Obviously there was a little concern because (Arklow is) the favorite, he’s the horse to beat. I was happy my horse got a little cover first time down the lane. Then when he (Zulu Alpha) pressed the pace, it was either am I going to fight him to stay in this bad spot or am I gonna put him inside? The way he ran at Churchill last time (winning a 1 1/16-mile allowance race on turf Sept. 14), obviously he enjoys coming through (along) the fence.
“Today he ran a really big race. He finished up strong with plenty of horse left. I want to congratulate Johnny. It’s a big day for him to win a graded stakes here at Keeneland. I was happy to do it for him.”

Florent Geroux (rider of runner-up and beaten 2-1 favorite Arklow)
“He broke OK and I was in the race. I felt like we were going very slow and we were in contention. I didn’t want anybody to steal the race (with the slow pace), so I put a little pressure on (the leader). I was surprised the winner got to me. My horse was running fast, but the winner just outkicked us.”

Brad Cox (trainer of Arklow)
“I am disappointed we didn’t win but he ran well. Florent did a good job in putting him where he needed to be and adjusted to the slow pace. We will see how he comes out of this and go from there (regarding starting in Breeders’ Cup Turf-G1).”

Tyler Gaffalione (rider of third-place finisher Bigger Picture)
“I had a good trip, just had to wait a little bit longer than I wanted to. I got stuck behind a couple tiring horses, but when I got him in the clear he made his run – just had to wait a little too long. (The fractions) were not exactly what I expected, but you never know what’s going to happen out there. On form it looked like it was going to set up a little bit better but just gotta take the race as it comes. I’m absolutely happy with his effort today, I think if we got a little more free run it would have been a different outcome, but he definitely tried and he never gave up it up.”