West Point Thoroughbreds’ Kentucky-bred Counting Stars turned the tables on familiar foe Always a Runner with an emphatic 3 3/4-length score in the $500,000 Acorn Stakes (G1).

Trained by dual Hall of Famer Mark Casse and piloted by Irad Ortiz, Jr., Counting Stars exited a third-place finish in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) on May 1 at Churchill Downs. In the Oaks, she finished behind the victorious Always a Runner.

Counting Stars endured an inside trip in the Kentucky Oaks under Francisco Arrieta before getting out to make a late run. In the Acorn, she saved ground in third position through much of the trip before tipping out midway through the final turn to flip the script on her Oaks rivals.

“She [overcame] a lot of adversity today, because she doesn’t usually like to be down inside,” Casse said. “I think Francisco rode her great in the Oaks, he saved all the ground, but he couldn’t get out until late and she came running late. So Irad had watched the race and determined at the top of the lane he was going to get out. In fairness, we had a five-horse field versus [13], it makes a difference.”

Counting Stars Decisive in Victory

Once Always a Runner surged into contention through three-quarters in 1:11.51, Ortiz used that space to tip Counting Stars to the far outside and his charge quickly swooped to the front. She took command approaching the eighth pole and powered clear to score in a final time of 1:48.85. In victory, she became the first Grade 1 winner for her sire Honor A. P.

“I had the favorite outside of me on the backside, nothing I can do. Then I waited until they started moving,” Ortiz said. “When [Always a Runner] jumped on Meaning, I had a good chance to get clear. I had no traffic at all and got clear, and when I hit clear she came running. When I hit the clear she jumped into the bit and I feel like I have the horse to run down the lane. She went by them easy in her own way. She did it the right way today, honestly. She won the right way. She was there for me.”

Casse said Counting Stars will likely look to improve her credentials in the $600,000 Alabama Stakes (G1) at Saratoga on Aug. 22, a race he won last year with eventual Champion 3-Year-Old Filly and Kentucky-bred Nitrogen.

Bred in Kentucky by HRH Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud, Counting Stars, out of the Paynter mare Paynterbynumbers, was a $150,000 purchase at the OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. Counting Stars banked $275,000 in victory while improving her record to 9-5-1-1.