Sonic Boom tallied his first graded stakes win on Saturday with a front-running score in the $100,000 American Derby (G3) at Arlington Park (VIDEO).
The 3-year-old colt is the 78th lifetime graded stakes winner for More Than Ready and his sixth of 2017. Sonic Boom had won the Columbia S. in March at Tampa Bay Downs and was also stakes-placed as a 2-year-old at Santa Anita Park.
Sonic Boom came out of the gate swiftly and had a comfortable lead after a half-mile in :48.05. The last half of the race went much like the first, with Sonic Boom and Julien Leparoux controlling the pace, winning by 1 3/4-lengths in 1:49.90 for the 1 1/8-miles on the firm turf.
“On the backside I felt very comfortable,” Leparoux said. “My horse relaxed for me and was doing it very easy. When I asked him at the quarter pole, he really kicked on nice.”
“This was a step forward for him today,” added trainer Ian Wilkes. “I think with Julien, we figured out how to ride him and let him do his thing.”
Sonic Boom improved his earnings to $245,800 for owner Lothenbach Stables, Inc. The chestnut colt’s record stands at 4-1-1 in nine starts. The winner was bred by Athens Woods & More Than Ready Syndicate and sold for $135,000 at the 2015 Keeneland September Yearling sale.
