Ron the Greek Wins the 2010 Lecomte at Fair Grounds
BY BROCK SHERIDAN
2010 – Florida-bred Ron the Greek started the year with a dramatic victory in the Grade 3 Lecomte at Fair Grounds for owner and breeder Jack T. Hammer and trainer Tom Amoss, becoming a contender for that year’s Triple Crown races.
With jockey James Graham aboard in the Lecomte, Ron the Greek raced ninth of 10 and was more than 15 lengths behind frontrunner Maximus Ruler until unleashing a furious rally down the long Fair Grounds stretch to win by a length-and-a-half at odds of 7-1.
However, the son of Full Mandate was unable to repeat that performance in two subsequent starts, finishing sixth in both the Grade 2 Risen Star and Grade 2 Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds—missing that year’s Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
Ron the Greek returned to racing in 2011 and would become a multiple Grade 1-winner in a career that would span more than six years and see him win the 2012 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs, the 2013 Jockey Club Gold Cup Invitational at Belmont Park and the Group 1 Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in 2015.
Out of the Fortunate Prospect mare Flambe, Ron the Greek retired with 14 wins in 38 lifetime starts with six seconds and four thirds and a bankroll of $2,769,557.
