Ron Correll
Senior columnist

Sailor’s Cap was made the favorite by a dime over Adriano, and he didn’t let the bettors down when he ran off and won the Colonial Turf Cup in a driving rainstorm at Colonial Downs.

By the time Sailor’s Cap got the lead at the top of the stretch the race was over as he cruised down the lane to win by nearly seven lengths in a time of 2:04.42 for the mile-and-three-sixteenths race. The fractions for the race were extremely slow because of the soggy course.

Kentucky Bear, who raced in the Preakness on May 17, rushed to the lead out of the gate and was a length ahead a quarter of a mile into the race. He hit that point in :25.26. He opened up almost five lengths on Nistle’s Crunch at the half-mile mark in :50.91. The first six furlongs were a slow 1:18.26, and Kentucky Bear was being reeled in.

Sailor’s Cap came out of the pack from fifth at the quarter pole and no one else could go with him. Jockey Alan Garcia set him down for the drive, and he was much the best to the wire. Nistle’s Crunch was second and Your Round was third. Court Vision was fourth and Adriano checked in fifth. Kentucky Bear faded to last in the 10-horse field.

The winner paid $9.20, $5.20 and $3.80. Nistle’s Crunch paid $6.60 and $4.80. Your Round, who went off at 56-1, paid $14.40 to show. The exacta paid $47.80 and the trifecta paid $1,141,60.

The 3-year-old son of Distant View also becomes the only colt that can win the Grand Slam of Grass with the win Saturday in New Kent, Va. The last three legs of the Grand Slam are the Virginia Derby, at New Kent, the Secretariat, at Arlington Park, and the Breeders Cup Turf at Santa Anita.

The yielding turf course was to Sailor’s Cap’s liking as he was coming into the Colonial off a second place on May 2 in the American Turf at Chuchill Downs, also over a yielding course. Nistle’s Crunch was third in the American Turf, so the form in that race has held up. The winner of the American Turf, Tizdejavu, won the Jefferson Cup on June 15 at Churchill Downs.

Tizdejavu is being pointed to the American Derby on July 12 at Arlington Park and then the Secretariat on Aug. 9 in Arlington Heights, Ill. Sailor’s Cap and Tizdejavu could have a showdown in the Secretariat, and Sailor’s Cap would be looking to avenge his neck loss in the American Turf.

All Along to Lady Digby

Lady Digby pulled off the upset at 4-1 when she beat odds-on favorite Rutherienne in the All Along earlier on the card at Colonial Downs.

Eclisse set the early pace with Lady Digby hanging out in third. Rutherienne was at her normal spot at the back of the pack. Lady Digby caught Eclisse at the eighth pole and crusied to a two-and-a-quarter length win in the mile-and-an-eighth race in 1:52.19.

Rutherienne had too much to do at the top of the stretch on the soft ground and could do no better than third.