Cairo Cat’s half-length triumph in the $150,000 Iroquois S. (G3) Sept.15 at Churchill Downs was the highlight of a milestone Saturday for Cairo Prince, who also tallied three maiden special weight winners on the afternoon.
Cairo Prince, who entered Saturday ranked third on the First-Crop Sire list, will almost certainly vault to the top of the chart once Saturday’s results are tallied.
Cairo Cat, who broke his maiden Aug. 11 at Saratoga, was making his first stakes start as well as his two-turn debut. Breaking from post 8, he made his way to the rail shortly after the start. Hugging the fence the rest of the way, he caught Tight Ten in the final furlong and edged past late to win by a half-length in 1:45.35 on a fast track.
“He did everything we asked him,” said winning rider Brian Hernandez, Jr..“We warmed up really good in the post parade. This was my first time I was on him and I thought to myself how smooth he was going. He traveled well the whole way around. He certainly didn’t travel like he was a 2-year-old. It’s easy to put in those type of rides with a horse that has that much confidence to put himself in spots like that.”
Cairo Cat’s earnings total is now $133,750. He is owned by Walking L Thoroughbreds and was bred by Clifton Farm LLC. The dark bay was a $130,000 purchase by his owners at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Summer Yearlings sale.
The Iroquois also is part of the Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In Juvenile Division” Challenge as well as being worth 10 points on the “Road to the Kentucky Derby” point system that will determine the field for next year’s 145th running of the Kentucky Derby.
