Mr. Money rides rail to Ack Ack S. (G3) victory

Goldencents’ multiple graded stakes winner Mr. Money added Churchill Downs’ Ack Ack S. (G3) to his resume on Saturday afternoon with a crafty ride from Gabriel Saez.

A 6 ½-length winner over the Churchill surface in last year’s Pat Day Mile (G3), Mr. Money was at his best on Saturday. Sitting just behind the leaders for the first six furlongs, the 4-year-old shot through a narrow opening with a furlong to run and held off a calvary charge of foes to win by 1 ¼-lengths over Bourbon Calling.

The final time for the mile on the fast track was 1:34.85.

“Gabe worked out a perfect trip on him,” said trainer Bret Calhoun. “I thought his last few tries weren’t a fair assessment of who this horse is. He showed us who he was today. He loves this track and got to run out of his own stall.”

As far as future plans, Chester Thomas of Allied Racing Stable was looking towards Keeneland in early November.

“Fingers crossed that will take us to the Breeders’ Cup,” said Thomas. “We are so thrilled for this horse, Bret, his entire team and Gabe.”

Mr. Money would likely try the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1), a race his sire won two consecutive years.

Mr. Money is owned by Allied along with Spendthrift Farm. He was bred in Kentucky by Spruce Lane Farm and is one of five stakes winners this year by Goldencents, who is currently the leading Third-Crop Sire in nearly every category, perhaps most impressively by winners, where he is the only sire on the list in triple digits, with 126.