Nordic Truce held off Strike the Tiger by a neck Friday to win
the $100,000 Grade III Transylvania Stakes, the feature race on the
opening day of Keenelands spring meet.
The even-money favorite with Julien Leparoux aboard was running
fifth in the seven-horse field halfway through but took the lead
down the stretch to finish in 1:41.31 on the firm track.
The Christophe Clement-trained Nordic Truce paid $4.20, $3.20
and $2.80. Strike the Tiger returned $8.20 and $5.20. Guys Reward
finished a nose behind and earned $5.20 to show.
A crowd of 24,734 attended Fridays races, the largest ever for
a spring opener at Keeneland.