Divining Rod captures the Grade 3 Coolmore Lexington Stakes at Keeneland to move into 21st position on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard. (Keeneland photo)

Divining Rod collared dueling leaders Donworth and Fame and Power at the top of the stretch and powered away to a three-length victory in the $250,000, Grade 3 Coolmore Lexington Stakes on Saturday at Keeneland Race Course.

Fame and Power broke forwardly to set the pace in the early stages of the 1 1/16-mile race, with Donworth pressing from his outside and Divining Rod settling behind the leaders after leaving from the inside post.

Donworth drew alongside Fame and Power as the field turned for home, and jockey Julien Leparoux guided Divining Rod to the outside for a clear run at the leaders. The trio ran three abreast at the top of the stretch, but Divining Rod found another gear and drew off for a dominant victory.

"We knew there were a couple of horses with speed in there and we wanted to teach him something," Leparoux said. "He was very proficient and very relaxed behind. The dirt didn’t bother him at all, and he finished up very strong.”

Donworth edged Fame and Power for second by a nose.

The win was the second in the race for owner Lael Stables, whose previous Lexington Stakes win came with Showing Up in 2006 and sent Roy and Gretchen Jackson to the Kentucky Derby as the only owners ever with two undefeated starters in the first jewel of the Triple Crown. The Jacksons’ homebred Barbaro would win that year’s race.

With his win in the Lexington Stakes, Divining Rod earned 10 Kentucky Derby points to bring his total to 20 and move the colt into 21^st place on the Road to the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard.

DIVINING ROD ENTERS THE KEENELAND WINNER'S CIRCLE

Photo by Eclipse Sportswire

Trained by Arnaud Delacour throughout his career, Divining Rod broke his maiden in his first try as a 2-year-old and made his sophomore debut in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, where he finished second to Ocean Knight. He then finished third behind Carpe Diem in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby before heading north to Keeneland for the Lexington. Delacour was pleased with the how the former front-runner responded to the change of tactics.

"That’s another dimension to the horse," Delacour said. "(Leparoux) just took back; he thought there’d be plenty of pace. The horse relaxed well and was great with the (dirt) kickback, and he came with a big kick at the end. Today he was very professional and I’m glad he’s learning with each start.”

The son of leading sire Tapit pushed his career earnings to $249,800 after pocketing the $150,000 winner’s share from his first graded stakes win. He completed the 1 1/16 miles on a fast dirt surface in 1:43.29.

For an Equibase chart, click here.