Last year’s runaway winner of the G3 Lone Star Derby, Mythical Power, sired by New York-based sire Congaree, got the better of an exciting stretch duel with determined pace-setter Euroears (Langfuhr) to take the $200,000 Grade 3 Texas Mile on Saturday at Lone Star Park by a neck. With Jeranimo winning the G2 Strub Stakes in February, Congaree is the first New York stallion to have two graded stakes winners in 2010.
Mythical Power, a four-year-old colt out of School for Scandal (Is It True) trained by Bob Baffert, had started three times on the Pro-Ride surface at Santa Anita since his Lone Star victory last May, and never finished better than fifth. In his return to the dirt and to Lone Star, the Peachtree Stable homebred, as 1.70-to-1 favorite, was a player from the start. He pressed the pace early under jockey Martin Garcia and advanced steadily on front-running Euroears until the two were heads apart at the top of the stretch. The pair then ran virtually stride for stride until Mythical Power got up by a neck at the wire. The victory in the Texas mile is Mythical Power’s third win lifetime and boosts his earnings to $581,040. He is Congaree’s second leading earner for the year and leading earner lifetime.
Congaree also had two open-length winners over the weekend at the allowance and maiden levels. Lookin Left (a four-year-old gelding) won a starter allowance by 5 ½ lengths going a mile and 1/16 at Pimlico on Friday, and on Sunday three-year-old filly Very Sweet, owned by Darley and trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, won a six-furlong Maiden Special Weight at Aqueduct by 4 lengths.
Congaree, who relocated to Highcliff Farm in Delanson for the 2010 breeding season, is currently the third leading third crop sire in stakes winners this year with four in all (behind Speightstown who has seven and Medaglia d’Oro with six). He has sired a total of eight stakes winners lifetime (three graded stakes winners) and his progeny have earned nearly $3.9M.
