Accelerate

His 4-year-old season culminated in several 2nd and 3rd place wins until the GII San Diego Handicap. The race was 1 1/16 mile and for the first time he wore blinkers and had a rider change. With the odds stacked against him he went out to race against the American Champion 3-year-old Male, Arrogate, who had not lost a race since his debut. Accelerate entered the homestretch with a 7-length lead and widened the margin to 8 1/2 lengths as he passed the wire, defeating Arrogate. He gave the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile a second try that year at Del Mar. He was never comfortable and finished ninth, his worst finish of his career.

As a 5-year-old he began his season in the GII San Pasqual Stakes. After breaking awkwardly he was forced to settle at the back of the pack. When the rail opened up for him again at the head of the homestretch, Accelerate moved through and took the lead winning by 1 3/4 lengths. His 5-year-old season resulted in several wins along the way but he finally got a chance to redeem himself at the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs on November 3rd, 2018. He drew post position fourteen in a fourteen-horse field. Accelerate was reluctant to load and broke 5th out of the gate. He held that position until the final turn when he challenged Mendelssohn for the lead and took it winning by 1 length with a final time of 2:02.93. Accelerate retired to stand at Lane’s End Farm on November 4th, 2018.