Eloquist took the lead right out of the starting gate and had to battle favorite Barese throughout most of the nine-furlong contest, but in the end, it was Eloquist that got his nose down on the wire first to claim victory in the Listed Discovery Stakes on Sunday, 27 November.
The three-year-old gelding became the third Stakes winner of the weekend for his sire, Nyquist, who was also represent by the juveniles Powerful (Ed Brown Stakes at Churchill Downs) and Renegade Rebel (G3 Mazarine Stakes at Woodbine) on Saturday. Eloquist, who entered the Discovery having won three of his previous four starts, earned his first Stakes win with the victory.
Eloquist broke alertly from the rail and was sent straight to the front by jockey Paco Lopez. They were soon joined by the favorite, Barese, and the battle was on. Barese, racing on the outside of Eloquist, never let his rival gain too much of an advantage, staying just off his flank through the early stages of the race. The pair began to separate themselves from the rest of the field, and by the time they entered the homestretch, it was certainly just a two-horse battle.
Barese drew alongside of Eloquist, and the pair battled through the stretch, as Eloquist continued to dig in and fight, never once letting his foe get the better of him. At the wire it was Eloquist that came out on top, by a nose over Barese, with Naval Aviator another five lengths back in third.
Bred in Kentucky by Idlewood Farm & Indian Creek, Eloquist is out of the unraced Tapit mare, Our Gal El. Second dam Shop Here has produced Stakes winner and G2-placed Fifth Avenue, and the immediate family also boasts Stakes winner and Multiple G1-placed Shoplifted, Imprimis (G2 Shakertown), and G1 winners Miss Shop (G1 Personal Ensign) and Power Broker (G1 FrontRunner Stakes).
The leading first crop sire of 2020, Nyquist has had yet another solid year, with runners such as G2 winner/G1-placed Slow Down Andy, multiple Graded Stakes winner Turnerloose (G2 Rachel Alexandra Stakes), Scalding (G3 Ben Ali Stakes, G3 Challenger Stakes), Absolutely Zero (Fasig-Tipton Futurity), Breakthrough (Wolf Hill Stakes) and Team Merchants (full brother to Slow Down Andy, multiple Stakes winner).
Nyquist will stand at Jonabell Farm in Kentucky in 2023 for a fee of $55,000, stands and nurses.
