Whenigettoheaven bests Determined Kingdom again in Meadow Stable
Two months after upsetting Determined Kingdom in the $100,000 Ben’s Cat at Laurel Park, Whenigettoheaven shipped to Colonial Downs for trainer Nolan Ramsey and pulled the same trick again in the $100,000 Meadow Stable Handicap on Saturday. This time, he beat the 1-2 favorite on his home turf.
Though Whenigettoheaven took down Determined Kingdom when the pair last met, bettors had several reasons to back the beaten rival again on Saturday. While Whenigettoheaven was entering the Meadow Stable off a layoff, Determined Kingdom, a six-time winner at Colonial, was returning home off a dramatically improved effort in the Grade 2 Troy at Saratoga.
Both 6-year-old geldings stalked early on in the Ben’s Cat, but neither runner exercised such courtesy in the Meadow Stable. Whenigettoheaven and jockey J.G. Torrealba broke sharply from the rail to take the early lead and jockey Mychel Sanchez urged Determined Kingdom forward to join him, setting the stage for a head-to-head bout. The top pair were 1 1/2 lengths clear of their next rival through a sharp opening quarter-mile in 21.98 seconds.
The front-running rivals were practically inseparable on the backstretch and traveled together all the way around the far turn, blazing through a half-mile in 44.18 and entering the stretch in a white-hot duel.
After directly challenging for the lead every step of the way on the outside, Sanchez called on Determined Kingdom for everything he had left to take a short lead near the wire, but Whenigettoheaven responded on the rail. Torrealba somehow managed to find more aboard his gelding and kicked clear. Going Up, a 4-year-old gelding trained by Ron Potts Jr., surged late from fourth, but Whenigettoheaven was a step too far and prevailed by a head. He completed the 5 1/2-furlong sprint in 1:01.74 and paid $11 to win.
Going Up inarguably had the best trip behind the early duel, but he came up short in a runner-up finish for trainer Potts. He finished a length ahead of Determined Kingdom, who was a warrior to the end and held on for third in a three-horse photo over longshots Great Heavens and Embolden.
Before the race, Ramsey said that he felt slightly unconformable entering Whenigettoheaven at 5 1/2 furlongs at Colonial. The trainer believes that the Maryland-bred gelding prefers six furlongs, and if forced to run shorter, he tends to do his best running at Laurel Park. If all goes to plan and he is entered in the $100,000 Maryland Million Turf Sprint in October, he is sure to be a daunting presence on more familiar ground.
Write Patrick Moquin/DRF