Volatile gave notice that he is one of the top sprinters in the country with a dynamic performance in the $100,000 Aristides S. on June 6 at Churchill Downs.
Owned by Phoenix Thoroughbreds III and Three Chimneys Farm, the gray 4-year-old covered the six furlongs in 1:07.59, a new stakes record and just missing the track record of 1:07.55 set in 2007. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 112, the fastest number under a mile in 2020 for any horse.
Much like he did in his previous two outings, both victories, Volatile sat just behind the pace before unleashing an explosive turn of foot at the top of the stretch. Sprinting away from the field in a matter of strides, he crossed the finish line an eight-length winner will being eased up at the end.
“This horse has incredible talent,” said jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr. “To go that fast as he did today shows he is extremely talented. He did that so easily.”
“He is a tremendous talent,” trainer Steve Asmussen added. “His family means a lot to me with his second dam Lady Tak, who we trained and won the Test (G1). We’re hoping this horse shows the same kind of affinity toward races like that as she did. It wasn’t a graded stakes but it was still a stakes win.”
The Aristides gave Volatile his first stakes win and upped his overall record to 4-1-0 in five starts.
