Photo: Candice Chavez / Eclipse Sportswire. In the heart of Louisville, Kentucky, an hour after bringing the potential horse of the year Thorpedo Anna to the paddock for a valedictory parade, trainer Kenny McPeek witnessed a remarkable event on Friday. The raw, 35-degree dusk at Churchill Downs set the stage for an extraordinary race.

Witness the Horse That Overcame Time and Challenges

Rattle N Roll's Journey to Victory

Rattle N Roll, who had missed a year due to hoof bruising, patiently made up ground on the backstretch. Taking a wide turn into the run home, he held off previously undefeated Most Wanted in the final furlong to win by three-quarters of a length in the 150th renewal of the Grade 2, $600,000 Clark Stakes. "It took a long time, but we got him back," McPeek said.This was a long time since his 2021 victory in the Breeders’ Futurity (G1). A fourth-place finish as the 6-5 favorite in last year’s Lukas Classic (G2) over the same 1 1/8 miles of Churchill dirt preceded the long break. A third-place finish 52 weeks later in this fall’s sloppy running of the Lukas marked his long-awaited return. It came after some false starts between a California farm and McPeek’s Kentucky-based stable.

The Race Itself: A Battle of Titans

Brian Hernandez Jr., McPeek’s go-to jockey for Thorpedo Anna and Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan, was aboard Rattle N Roll on Friday. He had Rattle N Roll (9-2) in fifth place behind early pacesetter and eventual last-place finisher Grand Aspen (67-1), who established pedestrian fractions of 24.11 and 49.15 seconds.Most Wanted (3-1), the lightly raced, 3-year-old Candy Ride colt who had been a close second running in the three path, took a narrow lead in the second turn. Rattle N Roll then tipped out into the homestretch and was in hot pursuit. They set down for the duel to the finish through three-quarters of a mile in 1:13.04.With Rattle N Roll sailing along in clear air, Florent Géroux veered Most Wanted outward to try and engage the more experienced rival. They went head to head until the last 50 yards, where Rattle N Roll pulled away.After a mile in 1:37.31, Rattle N Roll’s winning time was 1:49.60, the slowest running of the Clark since Hoppertunity’s 1:49.88 in 2014. Most Wanted finished second. His Brad Cox-trained stablemate Hit Show (3-2) with jockey Tyler Gaffalione was another 3 1/4 lengths back. However, he was demoted from third to fifth after Irad Ortiz Jr. said his mount Crupi (9-2) was impeded in the deep stretch. Stewards agreed and promoted Uno Mas Bourbon (46-1) from fourth to third. Crupi was moved up from fifth to fourth in the field of 10 horses, ages 3 and up.

What's Next for the Champion?

Cox said he had no firm plans for either Most Wanted or Hit Show. McPeek was more definite about what is next for Rattle N Roll, who is owned by Michael Mackin’s Lucky Seven Stable."The Pegasus," McPeek said, pointing to the Grade 1, $3 million test Jan. 25 at Gulfstream Park. "I think that’d be an ideal race for him. If he shoots this shot, we’ve got a pretty good shot, and who knows? You could take him to the World Cup in Dubai or Saudi. … He’ll travel for sure. I’d love to think Pegasus, Saudi, Dubai."Not bad for a horse who had almost exactly 12 months off but still has the distinction of having won at least one graded stakes each of the last four years. As Hernandez put it, "We’re super excited about it."