Menzies on Adonius' Keeneland Win: Absolutely Magical

Trainer Rebecca Menzies struck with her first runner in the United States when Adonius (IRE) won the Indian Summer Stakes (G3T) in a thrilling finish Oct. 4 at Keeneland to earn a crack at the Breeders' Cup. The trip of a lifetime for the County Durham-based dual-purpose trainer produced a dream result, and the Soldier's Call gelding will stay in the country now with the Oct. 30 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1T) at Keeneland on the agenda. Victory looked unlikely for much of Sunday's grade 3 contest worth $350,000. After blowing the start from the inside stall, Adonius had a mountain to climb and was still only fourth and some way off the leader entering the final furlong. But as the three rivals in front of him began to tire, the turbo-charger kicked in and Adonius got up on the line in a four-way finish under a John Velazquez masterclass. "My heart sank a little bit (when he broke badly), but they were going a good gallop, and he's never had a pace to aim at in Britain before, and Johnny got him really settled," Menzies said. "I was pretty happy because I know he's very honest and when he was pulled out wide and came late, I knew he always tries to the line. I actually thought, 'Oh, great, he's probably going to finish fourth here.' Then I saw him really rallying and putting his head down. It's a testament to the horse." Adonius gained a following in Britain after winning his first three starts, culminating in victory in the Lily Agnes at Chester's May meeting. He was then bought into by United States-based Riverdee and West Paces, in whose colors he finished second in the Molecomb at Glorious Goodwood and a Listed race at York's Ebor meeting. Speaking before his run at Keeneland, Menzies put that following down to people seeing him "as this cool fast horse out of a northern jumps yard." Menzies, who had previously had runners only in Britain, Ireland, and France, said: "I have so many people to say thank you to. There's an absolute army of people at home and here, since we got here, that helped us get him to this stage. "It's our first winner, our first runner abroad, and it's absolutely magical. It probably won't sink in for a while. We'll keep him here now, and on to the Breeders' Cup." Sunday's race could have been Adonius's last for Menzies, as he is scheduled to ship to Saratoga Race Course to continue his career there next year, and the trainer was grateful for the opportunity to continue the journey a little longer. "It's a testament to the owners to say, 'Let's roll the dice and bring him here.' They've been brilliant all the way through and the plan has just been executed beautifully and we had such a smooth prep into this race," Menzies said. "We were full of confidence with our horse; we just didn't know what we were going to be up against. It's absolutely amazing that he pulled it off."