Law Professor, who had been away from the races since April, turned in a huge effort in Thursday’s $400,000 Tapit S. at Kentucky Downs, winning the 1 mile and 70 yard race by a half-length over Spanish Kingdom (WATCH RACE).
The 4-year-old son of Constitution won the Mathis Mile (G2) last Dec. 26, his lone stakes victory prior to Thursday’s score. A Twin Creeks Racing Stable homebred, Law Professor is now 4-1-1 in 11 starts and has earned $516,440.
Law Professor was covered up behind horses as he stalked a trio of foes through a swift half-mile in :44.91. Law Professor didn’t show his hand until mid-stretch, when he ducked down to the inside and took the lead from Spanish Kingdom. Digging in the rest of the way, he held sway to finish in 1:38.10 on a firm turf course.
“I wasn’t sure if we had enough horse because the fractions looked really fast to me,” said winning trainer Rob Atras. “But Julien [Leparoux] was really smart and backed off the pace a little bit. He tucked him in and then he went down the rail and then the angle changed. I thought we had a shot, but I couldn’t quite tell because the angle was really tough for me to read. All of a sudden as the camera angle kind of went more to the traditional pan shot, they were still there.”
The winner’s dam Haunted Heroine has a yearling full sister to Law Professor.
Constitution has had another banner year, leading the Fourth-Crop Sire list with 14 stakes winners, seven of them in graded company to date in 2022.
