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Brilliant Speed takes Blue Grass at the wire

The Columbian
Published: April 16, 2011, 12:00am

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Brilliant Speed punched his ticket for the Kentucky Derby with a thrilling stretch run to win the $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes on Saturday at Keeneland.

The 3-year-old colt lagged behind the rest of the 12-horse field until the turn, then exploded over the final quarter-mile to edge Twinspired in a photo finish.

The $450,000 winner’s check gives Brilliant Speed more than enough graded-stakes earnings to earn a spot in next month’s Run for the Roses. Ridden by Joel Rosario and trained by Tom Albertrani, Brilliant Speed covered the 1 1-8 miles on Keeneland’s Polytrack in 1:50.92 and paid $40.20, $20.80 and $13.

Twinspired and jockey Robby Albarado paid $21.20 and $11.80 for second, while King Congie paid $8.80 for third.

Santiva went off as the solid 2-1 favorite but never threatened.

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