Chitu Prince sets track record for 4½ furlongs
NO one in their right mind would believe that a track record at any distance could be achieved in one of the multiple claiming divisions.
However, Chitu Prince, a six-year-old bay horse, defied the odds and rewrote the record books for the distance of four and a half furlongs (900m).
Chitu Prince, trained by Ryan Williams and ridden by Javaniel Patterson, won by 7 3/4 lengths in a time of 53.3 seconds in the five-year-old and upwards Optional Claiming ($180,000-$150,000) that was also made up of five-year-olds and upwards (non-winners of three).
Chitu Prince’s time shattered the previous record of 53.4, which was shared by Power Ranking and Rejected Raja. Power Ranking set the record as a two-year-old on October 31, 2021, with Rejected Raja matching it on October 30, 2022.
At the off, Chitu Prince shot to the front ahead of Crushing Power (Dane Dawkins) and Contractor (Richard Henry). Chitu Prince stayed with the field for a bit before pulling away coming across the dummy rails to register his fourth career win from 35 starts.
Contractor was second and Matriarch (Jordan Barrett) was third.
