Bodog Beat

Edgar Prado drives Adriano to victory on Saturday. (AP Images)

Adriano, a turf specialist, was an easy winner Saturday in the 37th running of the Grade 2, $500,000 Lane's End Stakes for 3-year-olds at Turfway Park.

Trained by Graham Motion, Adriano ridden by jockey Edgar Prado was fourth heading into the far turn of the 1 1/8-mile race, when he made his move and won by 2.5 lengths over the 3/1 betting favorite Halo Najib.

Adriano had raced primarily on turf and Lane’s End marked his synthetic track debut. His last race resulted in a poor performance on dirt in the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream.

"I thought he was extremely impressive," Motion said. "Edgar [Prado] gave him a beautiful ride."

Saturday's win was worth $300,000 to bring the chestnut colt's career earnings to $402,700.

"This is a very proud moment," said owner Donald Adams of Courtlandt Farms. "We've been in the business a long time and we haven't had major success. Days like this make up for the lean years. He's very, very big and he's just starting to grow into himself. He has that stride that just eats up the ground."

Adriano has won three races in seven starts and is expected to be in the Kentucky Derby.

"I need to speak to Mr. Adams," Motion said about Adriano making a Run for the Roses. "I think we all agree that he's probably more of a turf horse, but the Lexington is something we will definitely consider. I'll be speaking to [Adams] over the next few days. The horse showed that on his day he can be brilliant. I thought another key was that he was very good in the paddock. He's very hot-blooded. In the Fountain of Youth, he kind of fell apart that day. The fact that he was good today made a big difference."

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