Photo:

Candice Chavez / Eclipse Sportswire

Louisville, Ky.

About an hour after he brought would-be horse of the year Thorpedo
Anna to the paddock for a valedictory parade, trainer Kenny McPeek watched one
of his old stars turn back the clock Friday in the raw, 35-degree dusk at
Churchill Downs.

Rattle N Roll, who missed a year to recover from hoof
bruising, patiently made up ground on the backstretch, took a wide turn into
the run home and held off previously undefeated Most Wanted in the final
furlong to win by three-quarters of a length in the 150th renewal of the Grade
2, $600,000 Clark Stakes.

“It took a long time, but we got him back,” McPeek said.

Click here for Churchill Downs entries and results.

A long time since that 2021 victory in the Breeders’
Futurity (G1). A fourth-place finish as the 6-5 favorite in last year’s Lukas
Classic (G2) covering the same 1 1/8 miles of Churchill dirt as Friday’s race
came before that long break. A third-place finish 52 weeks later in this fall’s
sloppy running of the Lukas marked the long-awaited return for the 5-year-old
horse by Connect. It came after some false starts between a California farm and
McPeek’s Kentucky-based stable.

“He had distal-bone bruising, and we brought him back, and
he still wasn’t right,” said McPeek, a first-time winner of the Clark. “We sent
him back out again, and we left him a little longer, and he still wasn’t right.
It was one of the what I’d say slowest comebacks I’ve ever seen, but highly
rewarded today.”

Brian Hernandez Jr., McPeek’s go-to jockey for Thorpedo Anna
and Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan, was aboard Rattle N Roll on Friday. It
was his usual assignment for what had become an unusual victory, even though he
had an inkling good things were on the horizon.

“In his last two works and watching him train the last
couple days, you knew that he was going to be back,” said Hernandez, also a
first-time winner in the Clark. “Even in his first race back off of the (long)
layoff, he only got beat about three lengths to (Clark favorite) Hit Show and
Cooke Creek. I mean that was a big race. We knew since that race he was going
to jump forward.”

Hernandez looked full of horse on the backstretch Friday. He
had Rattle N Roll (9-2) in fifth place behind early pacesetter and eventual
last-place finisher Grand Aspen (67-1), who established pedestrian fractions of
24.11 and 49.15 seconds.

Most Wanted (3-1), the lightly raced, 3-year-old Candy Ride
colt who had been a close second running in the three path, took a narrow lead
in the second turn. Rattle N Roll then tipped out into the homestretch. He was
in hot pursuit and set down for the duel to the finish through three-quarters
of a mile in 1:13.04.

With Rattle N Roll sailing along in clear air, Florent
Géroux veered Most Wanted outward to try and engage the more experienced rival.
They went head to head until the last 50 yards, where Rattle N Roll pulled
away.

“I just got outrun late by a very nice horse,” Géroux said
after Most Wanted suffered his first loss in five starts. “We’ve kind of been
asking him a lot in a very short time. He was unraced (until June), and then he
ended up in here with horses like Rattle N Roll, a Grade 1 winner, and some
very polished horses. He was great in defeat. He was trying all the way to the
wire, but he got a little bit outrun later.”

After a mile in 1:37.31, Rattle N Roll’s winning time was
1:49.60, the slowest running of the Clark since Hoppertunity’s 1:49.88 in 2014.

Most Wanted finished second. His Brad Cox-trained stablemate
Hit Show (3-2) with jockey Tyler Gaffalione was another 3 1/4 lengths back, but
he was demoted from third to fifth after Irad Ortiz Jr. said his mount Crupi (9-2)
was impeded in the deep stretch. Stewards agreed and promoted Uno Mas Bourbon (46-1)
from fourth to third. Crupi was moved up from fifth to fourth in the field of
10 horses, ages 3 and up.

“I thought they ran well,” Cox said about Most Wanted and
Hit Show before he heard the stewards’ ruling. “I thought both got decent
set-ups. (Most Wanted) was up close on a soft pace, and Hit Show was sitting a
nice, pocket trip. Both finished up well. I’d liked for the result to have been
a little different. I think we’ve been second in this race the last three years
(with First Mission in 2023 and West Will Power in 2022). It’s frustrating, but
it is what it is.”

Cox said he had no firm plans for either Most Wanted or Hit
Show. McPeek was more definite about what is next for Rattle N Roll, who is
owned by Michael Mackin’s Lucky Seven Stable.

“The Pegasus,” McPeek said, pointing to the Grade 1, $3
million test Jan. 25 at Gulfstream Park. “I think that’d be an ideal race for
him. If he shoots this shot, we’ve got a pretty good shot, and who knows? You
could take him to the World Cup in Dubai or Saudi. … He’ll travel for sure. I’d
love to think Pegasus, Saudi, Dubai.”

Not bad for a horse who had almost exactly 12 months off but
still has the distinction of having won at least one graded stakes each of the
last four years.

As Hernandez put it, “We’re super excited about it.”