O Besos denies Bango record-setting 12th Churchill Downs victory

Greg Foley left the winner's circle looking defeated Thursday evening.

O Besos had just won the $200,000 St. Matthews Overnight Stakes for the Oldham County trainer. But it cost another one of his horses, Bango , a shot at Churchill Downs history.

The 7-year-old dark bay, for a second straight start, failed to cross the finish line first and separate himself atop the track's all-time wins leaderboard.

For now, the son of Congrats remains tied at 11 victories with the late Ready’s Rocket , whose racing career spanned 2005-12.

Bango and jockey Tyler Gaffalione finished fourth out of five, 7 lengths behind O Besos and Irad Ortiz Jr., in a race they won by 5 lengths last year.

"Tyler said, 'He just was a little flat,'" Foley told The Courier Journal.

"A little flat" is also a good way to describe the celebration for O Besos and Ortiz; who starting in Post 5 with 7-2 odds covered 6 furlongs in 1:08.72.

Members of Foley's family were decked out in green — Bango's silks color — not O Besos' red and white.

"He's a very nice horse," Foley said of O Besos, who returned $9.12 on a $2 wager for the win — his first in a stakes race. "I didn't put him in there to run bad, you know?"

But he certainly would have preferred Bango being the one to rally from fifth place at the quarter pole and surge past runner-up Bourbon Bash in the final furlong.

Bourbon Bash (5-1) paid $4.28 to place, and Surveillance (12-1) returned $5.04 to show.

Foley said the race set up well for O Besos, who improved to 5-3-2 across 17 starts. The field was trimmed from seven to five with Richiesonaroll and Manny Wah scratching.

"He sat there, picked up the pieces, got lucky and had Irad on him today," Foley said. "(He) rode him perfectly."

As for Bango, Foley said he "never felt comfortable with his race." He felt something was off when the horse, whose disposition has earned him the nickname "the beast of Churchill Downs," was not as aggressive as he usually is in the paddock.

Starting in Post 3 with 2-5 odds, Gaffalione and Bango were a length off the lead at the quarter pole. Then, they got bottled up in the middle of the pack and tired with roughly 1/16 to go.

"I thought he'd be dragging Tyler to the lead," Foley said.

Owned by Tamaroak Partners LLC, Bango is 14-4-4 across 36 starts, with more than $1.5 million in career earnings. At Churchill, he is 11-2-3.

He failed to pass Ready’s Rocket in his last race at Churchill, finishing third in the Bet on Sunshine Stakes during its 2023 Fall Meet.

His other wins have come at Ellis Park in Henderson and Turfway Park in Florence.

One of those victories at Ellis occurred last July, when Churchill relocated the remainder of its 2023 Spring Meet to the track in the wake of 12 horse deaths during a six-week period.

Because of the move, it didn’t count toward his record under the Twin Spires.

Foley not only said Bango will get another shot at breaking Churchill's all-time wins record but also guaranteed it'll happen.

"He'll get it," Foley said. "He's still got some run in him for sure."

The trainer isn't sure when Bango's next start will be after a monthlong break. Same goes for O Besos.

"I didn't look past today," Foley said.

But Churchill remains the logical destination for his horses, especially after Thursday's deflated trip to the winner's circle.

Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: O Besos denies Bango record-setting 12th Churchill Downs victory