Yes This Time’s rail-skimming win in Saturday’s $150,000 Kent S. (G3) at Delaware Park gave leading Second-Crop sire Not This Time his second stakes winner in a week and fourth overall in 2021.
Three-year-old Yes This Time has been a win machine this year; he now has five consecutive victories dating back to February, including a win in the English Channel S. at Gulfstream Park. Saturday’s win was his first in a graded race and sixth in eight lifetime starts.
The chestnut colt had some anxious moments before his late rally to victory. He was near the back of the six-horse field most of the way, with a very slow pace in front of him. Like the King had the lead coming into the stretch before Yes This Time found an opening on the fence and forged through to beat the pacesetter to the wire by a length.
The final time for the 1 1/8-miles on the soft turf was 1:52.39.
“I was concerned about the pace,” said winning trainer Kelly Breen. “Honestly, the leader (Like the King) got out there and went a half in :51 and three-quarters in 1:16. I was concerned about being towards the back early, but the rail opened up and he came running. We are schooling him for the Kentucky Downs race (Dueling Grounds Derby – Sept 5) by getting him used to going up and down the hills and being able to rate. He is a pretty neat horse with a lot of guts. He is a nice horse to train and he is pretty cool.”
Owned by Edge Racing, Yes This Time upped his earnings to $215,025. Bred by Barry Golden, he is out of the Smart Strike mare Smart Jilly, whose siblings include Grade 2 winners Pacific Wind and Strike a Deal.
Not This Time sits atop the Second-Crop sire list in progeny earnings, with $1.8 million, as well as stakes winners, stakes horses (9) and winners, with 41.