Masqueparade faced a field of seasoned stakes horses in Saturday’s $500,000 Ohio Derby (G3) and came away a half-length winner over King Fury to give the 3-year-old Upstart colt his first stakes win in what was also his stakes debut.
The colt’s victory launched Upstart into the top five on the Second-Crop sire list, with progeny earnings of more than $1.4 million. His 24 individual winners and 30 wins are also top-five numbers.
Masqueparaded tuned up for Saturday’s race with a dozen-length allowance score, earning a 97 Beyer Speed Figure, on Kentucky Derby (G1) day at Churchill Downs.
Drawing post 8 in the field of nine, Masqueparade was midpack on the first turn, then began to creep closer while three-wide on the backstretch. Midway on the final turn he drew even with pacesetter Promise Keeper, and those two dueled the rest of the way, with King Fury and Keepmeinmind charging late. Masqueparade dug in gamely to hold the trio off and finish the nine furlongs in 1:50.82 on a fast main track, good for a career-best Beyer of 98.
“He stepped up. When you win a non-winners-of-1 and then step into graded stakes it’s a whole different animal and he acquitted himself nicely,” trainer Al Stall Jr. said, “He’s on the upswing and learning.”
Stall said Masqueparade could make his next start in the July 31 Jim Dandy S. (G2) at Saratoga.
Now the winner of three straight, Masqueparade has earned $422,208 in six lifetime starts. He is owned by the partnership of FTGGG Racing, an acronym for “For The Greater Glory Of God.”. The group was organized by Bill Babin, who purchased Masqueparade on their behalf for $180,000 out of the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling sale.
Masqueparade was bred by Brereton Jones and is the third foal out of Cry War Eagle, who also has a yearling filly by Collected and a weanling colt by Cairo Prince.
