Let Em Know, Good to Be King Victorious on Belmont Turf

Let Em Know made his presence felt by capturing the $250,000 Pilgrim Stakes (G2T) Oct. 3 at Belmont Park, becoming the first graded stakes winner for Spendthrift Farm freshman sire Jackie's Warrior. In contrast to his previous start, where he began from an inside post in the Summer Stakes (G1T) at Woodbine and finished fifth, Let Em Know broke from the outside in a field of 11 juveniles in the Pilgrim Stakes. But that worked to his advantage, jockey Edgard Zayas said. He settled his mount into fourth down the backstretch and sent him into a three-wide bid on the second turn. Let Em Know took over the lead just after the eighth pole, and outlasted runner-up Roscoe Goose by a half-length. The Whit Beckman-trained winner, who returned $27.38 for a $2 wager, ran 1 1/16 miles on the firm outer turf in 1:42.15 after rating just off fractions of :24.81, :49.24, and 1:13.22 set by eventual last-place finisher And the Runner Is. Zayas said of Let Em Know, "He doesn't have that turn of foot, but he'll keep fighting with another horse." Pass On By took third place in a tight show photo with three other runners. Favored High Official ran seventh. Let Em Know, bred in Kentucky by Dixiana Farms out of the graded stakes-winning Gio Ponti mare America's Tale, has two wins from four starts after earning his maiden in New York on turf in his second career outing. Legion Bloodstock, agent for Gracie Bloodstock, purchased him for $600,000 from the Pick View consignment to the Ocala Breeders' Sales March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. Let Em Know earned a berth into the Oct. 30 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) at Keeneland via the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In with the victory Saturday. "We thought he was going to be a dirt horse, but we'll take graded stakes on the turf," Beckman said. Good to Be King Reigns in Futurity A race earlier, Good to Be King surged through the stretch to outfinish Regent's Park by a length in the $200,000 Futurity Stakes (G3T) for 2-year-old grass sprinters. Patiently handled by Manny Franco, who won four races on the Saturday program, late-running Good to Be King was still 13 lengths off the early pace when fifth of seven runners a half-mile into the 6-furlong race. But he always had the race's key contenders in his sight, with only longshot leader My Kid's Said No well in front. But as they hit the stretch, the early leader began to fade from setting furious fractions of :21.71 and :43.76, and Good to Be King was in high gear. He took over from late-stretch leader and eventual runner-up Regent's Park in the final 70 yards and inched clear late. Luminous Beauty ran third. My Kid's Said No, still in front at the eighth pole, ended up a tired fifth in the seven-horse field. The winner ran 6 furlongs in 1:09.06 on a firm inner turf course. He paid $5.16 to win as the favorite. "The pace was really fast in front, so I just took my time," Franco said. Cherry Valley Farm's Good to Be King is a bay colt by pensioned Claiborne Farm stallion War Front out of the Runhappy mare Gypsy Touch. Good to Be King earned a "Win and You're In" berth into the Oct. 30 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1T) at Keeneland.