Trendsetter shocks the Lexington field at Keeneland; longshot secures a surprise victory in the final Derby prep
- Turf Diario
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
At 32-1, the Ben Colebrook trainee continued his dream run with another upset during the Spring Meet, though his path toward the Triple Corona remains a longshot
LEXINGTON, KY (Special to Turf Diario)— Horse racing is built on stories that even the boldest optimists wouldn't dare to write, and trainer Ben Colebrook is currently authoring a masterpiece. Just eight days after sending out Percy’s Bar (Upstart) to a shock victory in the Ashland Stakes (G1), Colebrook struck again at Keeneland, saddling Trendsetterto a massive 32-1 upset in Saturday’s Lexington Stakes (G3).
"Somebody pinch me... you never expect this," Colebrook said with a grin. The betting public certainly didn't expect it either, dismissing the 3-year-old colt as the seventh choice in a field of nine. Trendsetter entered the 1,700-meter test on a five-race losing streak, though he had shown flashes of talent in previous stakes company.
Under the Keeneland sun, the son of Modernist settled into fourth as Corona de Oro (Bolt d'Oro) carved out fractions of :23.68, :47.92, and 1:12.12. As the field rounded the far turn, Trendsetter launched a sustained, powerful bid. He didn't just seize the lead in the stretch—he vanished, drawing off to win by 2 1/4 lengths over The Hell We Did (Authentic). The final time was 1:44.51 on a fast track, returning a staggering $66.68 on a $2 win bet.
Despite the brilliance of the performance, the victory is unlikely to alter the Triple Crown landscape. As the final stop on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, the Lexington offered only 20 points to the winner—an amount insufficient to crack the Top 20 on the leaderboard. Colebrook remained realistic about the future: "There are plenty of races for 3-year-olds. We'll likely pass [on the Derby], but we'll discuss it," he noted, perhaps hinting at the Preakness Stakes (G1) instead.
Trendsetter, an Ocala sales graduate purchased for $130,000, becomes the first graded stakes winner for his sire, Modernist. For Colebrook, the win validated his home-court advantage: "It’s a huge plus to train at Keeneland year-round and have a horse that knows this surface."
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