For Immediate Release: Saturday, June 25, 2016

ENCRYPTION WINS THRILLER IN TURNING FOR HOME STAKES

Stoneway Farms’ Encryption rallied from last to catch race favorite Majestic Affair with just less than an eighth of a mile to go and then out finished that one to the wire to win the $100,000 Turning for Home Stakes by a head Saturday afternoon at Parx. The race was the centerpiece of an afternoon dedicated to the Turning for Home program, the racing industries leader in finding and providing new homes and new careers for retired thoroughbred race horses.

Breaking from post 2 in the short five horse field, Encryption landed in a nice spot around the first turn, sitting third, saving ground as the two leaders turned into the backstretch. The race longshot, Saffron Hall (14-1), was allowed to dictate the early portion of the race, carrying a two and a half length lead up the backstretch through reasonable fractions of 24.60 and 48.86. Moving to the far turn, the other four all began to take closer order, with Majestic Affair being the first to move. Encryption, however, suddenly found himself shuffled to fifth, as he was passed by both Etruscan and Adirondack King with just less than three furlongs to go. With little choice now, winning jockey Nik Juarez now swung Encryption four wide midway around the final turn and made a strong run to move into contention as the race neared the top of the stretch.

Majestic Affair had been able to wrest a short lead from Saffron Hall coming off the turn, but Encryption was sustaining his run in the middle of the race track and continued to gain, finally drawing even as the two leaders came to mid-stretch. They raced as a team down to the wire, with Encryption pulling ahead very late and winning the photo by a dramatic head.

Off as no better than third choice at 5-2, Encryption, trained by Kelly Breen, paid $7.20, 2.80 and 2.80. Majestic Affair, the 7-5 favorite, ran well but had to settle for second and returned 2.40 and 2.10. Saffron Hall held well all the way down the lane to finish a good third as the longest price on the board and paid 5.40 to show. The final time for the mile and seventy yards on a track labeled fast was 1:43.28.