Encino won Keeneland's Stonestreet Lexington Stakes and may have earned enough points to qualify for the Kentucky Derby. (Candice Chavez/Eclipse Sportswire)
Breaking from the inside in Saturday's Lexington aboad Encino, jockey Florent Geroux got the 3-year-old son of Nyquist out to a fast start, keeping the field at bay by a length through the opening half mile.
"I always like being close to or on the lead if we can get there. And to be honest with you, we kind of handicapped the race on paper that we may sit off of a horse or two and get a tracking trip," trainer Brad Cox said. "When he broke the way he did, Florent did a great job of taking control of the race."
Just as easily as Encino and Geroux set the early pace, they were equally as deft at handling pressure to maintain their advantage. Encino raced with blinkers on after going 2-for-3 without them earlier this year at Turfway Park.
Favored The Wine Steward made his 2024 debut in the Lexington after he won his first three starts as a 2-year-old before ending 2023 with a second-place finish in last fall's Grade 1 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland.
The Wine Steward and jockey Luis Saez began to cut into Encino's lead around the far turn, and the challenger nearly pulled even in early stretch. This seemed to provide additional fuel to Encino, who then inched away through the stretch to win by three-quarters of a length, stopping the clock in 1:43.93. He posted fractions of :23.55, :47.28, 1:11.94, and 1:37.22.
"Obviously, the horse has got a big pedigree, he's a Godolphin homebred. Most of those horses can carry their speed around two turns and he was able to show that he was capable of doing that today," said Cox.
Added Geroux, "It was pretty much all him to the first turn; he pretty much controlled the race from there. He was cruising around there, and when he felt The Wine Steward outside of him, it gave him a little extra push. I think that's what he needed because he was getting a little lost out there on his own. But he had plenty left in the tank, the dirt felt great, and it looks like added distance shouldn't be a problem for him."
Where Encino's next start will be remains to be seen. It would not be a surprise if a Derby slot opens up for Encino with a defection amongst the horses ahead of him. If not, another Triple Crown race, the May 18 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course, could be in the cards.
"We'll have to see what happens over the next few weeks," Cox said. "The Preakness would obviously be a spot we can look at as well, but we're shipping to Churchill Downs in a few days to start preparing for either the Derby or the Preakness."
Dilger finished a distant third and Secret Chat was fourth. A $2 win bet on Encino paid $8.62.
This is the third year in a row that a Cox trainee has won the Lexington. Encino joins another Godolphin homebred, First Mission (2023) and Tawny Port (2022) as recent Cox winners.
