West Fifty Fourth delivered on the potential that the stable knew he had with a strong come from behind win at Belmont yesterday at his first race start. The O’Reilly gelding had only had one “soft” trial prior to the race, however, the full brother to “Studio Fifty Four” (a former GR horse) was showing excellent signs at trackwork and indicated that he would be hard to beat.
After slightly missing the start, West Fifty Fourth settled back in the field. It was going to be tough to reel in the leaders over the 1000m sprint, however, stable jockey Peter Knuckey didn’t panic and managed to extricate him out wide as they came into the straight. He knuckled down to the task well and snatched victory on the line under strong riding from “Knucks”. He was well-backed as favourite and the owners were on pretty good terms with themselves after the GR update had let them know that he was ready to win!
It was always the intention to give him the one start and tip him out for a spell, so he is off to the paddock on a positive note and we look forward to seeing him back for bigger and better rewards in the coming months.