It took until the final jumps, but a powerful late rally by Dr. Kapur was enough to carry him to victory over Triple Crown alumnus Chief Wallabee and pull off an upset in the $350,000 Perryville Stakes (G3) Oct. 17 at Keeneland.
The 3-year-old son of McKinzie was making his fourth start since July after missing the spring and early summer, with trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. refocusing to sprints in those starts after a few unsuccessful attempts on the Kentucky Derby (G1) trail. He showed graded potential with a runner-up finish in the Gallant Bob Stakes (G2) Sept. 19 at Parx Racing and took it a step higher with Saturday's victory.
Ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, he was distantly separated from the main body of the field of 10 along with Obliteration and Street Beast. Roscoe's Brother fired off fractions of :22.11 and :44.59 and carried a 2-length lead into the stretch. Chief Wallabee was picking up the pieces in the stretch and took command with a sixteenth to go.
Meanwhile, Gaffalione was diving in between horses, searching for any running room at all for Dr. Kapur. Once he found it, the colt came with a full head of steam and ran down Chief Wallabee with just a few yards to spare, winning by a neck while completing 7 furlongs in 1:24.25. Obliteration also rallied well, albeit much wider than Dr. Kapur, and missed second by a nose.
"The horse was very willing," Gaffalione told Keeneland publicity. "He didn't hesitate at any spot I put him in and he finished great. I was very proud of his effort. So happy for (owner Ken Ramsey). (The Ramseys have) been so incredible to me throughout my career, and it's nice to get a nice win for them here."
Odds-on favorite Deep Flame made a strong move on the far turn to reach second turning for home, but was empty in the stretch and finished sixth.
At odds of 24-1, Dr. Kapur's upset paid $50.24.
A homebred for Ken Ramsey and his late wife, Sarah, Dr. Kapur is out of the stakes-winning and grade 3-placed Kitten's Joy mare Ava's Kitten. The win pushed his career record to 3-2-0 from eight starts for earnings of $434,881.
Ramsey said that Gaffalione's instructions were to wait back and hope for a meltdown, which is exactly what happened. He also said he believes 7 furlongs is the perfect distance for the colt.
Ramsey, 91, was extra thankful to be in the winner's circle as he was alongside his kidney donor and friend Tom Pope.
"My kidney function was down to 8%. He donated me a kidney, and right now (function) is 84," Ramsey said. "He's the reason I'm standing up here. I was gone, simple as that. I'm going to live to 100 or die trying."
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