Faithful Departed tracked the pace from along the inside, tipped out to run down the tiring leader and split rivals in upper stretch on her way to a two-and-a-quarter length win in the $275,000 G3 Regret Stakes for three-year-old fillies at Churchill Downs on Saturday, 30 May.
José Ortiz rode the victor for trainer Grant Forster in the nine furlong turf race, which drew seven runners after a pair of early scratches.
Surprise Ending broke alertly and set the pace near the rail, clicking off fractions of :23.43, :47.44 and 1:11.34 with Trust Account tracking from second and favored Tam Tam poised three deep. Faithful Departed bided her time in fourth along the fence as the leaders strung out in front of her.
Ortiz angled Faithful Departed off the rail leaving the far turn, collared a backpedaling Surprise Ending and found running room between horses in upper stretch. Faithful Departed shot to the front past the eighth pole and drew clear through a mile in 1:35.13 to a final time of 1:46.23 on the firm course.
Storm's Wake launched a wide rally to grab second, with Tam Tam getting up for third.
Faithful Departed was bred in Kentucky by Robert K. Johnston and is out of Speed Seeker (Heatseeker), winner of the G3 Ontario Colleen Stakes. Speed Seeker is a half sister to multiple Stakes winner and Graded Stakes-placed Evelyn’s Dancer (Songandaprayer) and to Stakes winner and Graded Stakes-placed Thisismytime (Carpe Diem).
Faithful Departed is the second Stakes winner of the weekend for her sire, Yoshida, who was represented by winner Eff Thirty Five in the Alphabet Soup Handicap at Penn National.
Yoshida has sired 80 individual winners and eight Stakes winners thus far, including Yo Daddy, winner of the listed Excelsior Stakes at Aqueduct and Desvio, winner of the G2 Sycamore Stakes at Keeneland.
