General Quarters- 2009 Derby Contender

General Quarters

Pedigree: Sky Mesa - Ecology (Unbridled's Song)

Owner: Thomas R. McCarthy

Trainer: Thomas R. McCarthy

Sideof Hat: Silks

Back: McCarthy Racing Stable

Front   

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GENERAL QUARTERS WINS THE BLUEGRASS STAKES!

Next Start: The Kentucky Derby

Some thought General Quarters’ Sam F. Davis (gr. III) win two starts back was a fluke. But the son of Sky Mesa proved them wrong by powering to a 1 1/2-length victory in the $750,000 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I) on April 11 at Keeneland. He will now head to next month’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) as a legitimate contender.

Bettors sent General Quarters off at 14-1 in the Blue Grass after the gray/roan colt ran fifth in the March 14 Tampa Bay Derby (gr. III). His bullet work at Churchill Downs a week ago did nothing to change their minds. Under the handling of Eibar Coa, General Quarters raced wide but close up through the backstretch, made a winning move rounding the far turn and took over from Massone and Join in the Danceat the top of the lane. Hold Me Back, the 2-1 favorite, gave a game chase inside the sixteenth-pole but was no match for the winner.
The final time on Polytrack was 1:49.26.