Ottoman Fleet, who has given a good accounting of himself in each of his U.S. races, delivered his latest handy performance on a hot, humid Saturday at Churchill Downs in posting a 1 1/2-length victory as the favorite in the Grade 2, $500,000 Wise Dan Stakes for older horses on the turf. Godolphin color bearer Ottoman Fleet ($3.40), a 5-year-old Sea The Stars gelding trained by Charlie Appleby, is also a multiple group stakes winner in England and Group 1-placed in Dubai. In the U.S., he has made five starts, never missing the trifecta. Last year, he won the Grade 2 Fort Marcy and finished third in the Grade 1 Manhattan, both at Belmont. This spring, he missed by a neck in a repeat bid at the Fort Marcy, contested at Aqueduct, before coming to the Wise Dan off a victory in the Grade 3 Arlington earlier this month at Churchill. In previous races, Ottoman Fleet's connections have stated that he likes a target before him, and can lose focus when making the lead too soon. In the Wise Dan, however, no one in the six-horse field was keen to lead early, so Flavien Prat took the initiative on Ottoman Fleet, with the gelding finding himself putting a head in front of Strong Tide the first time past the wire and getting the opening quarter in 23.63 seconds. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Ottoman Fleet rated kindly down the backstretch, despite a pumped-up Johny's Fireball tugging his way up to his hip through a moderate half in 48.05. "I really wasn’t expecting the pace scenario to be what it turned out to be," Prat said. “We sort of found ourselves on the lead and just went on with it. He was traveling so nicely that I just let him keep doing it on the front end." Ottoman Fleet cut the corner nicely and, once straightened away and set down, kicked on strongly in upper stretch. With Prat showing his mount the stick and occasionally giving him a reminder to run on through the wire, he kept well clear down the lane, although Chasing the Crown turned in a nice rally for the place spot. He finished the 1 1/16 miles on the firm turf in 1:41.26. Chasing the Crown, whose only losses on the Churchill Downs course have come when second to Ottoman Fleet in his last two outings, was 1 1/4 lengths clear of third-place Strong Tide, who was sent away as the longest shot on the board but recorded his sixth career graded stakes placing. They were followed, in order, by Win for the Money, Exaulted, and a weakening Johny's Fireball. Grade 1 winner Exaulted, making his first start since September, was put in tight on the first turn, but came under a ride on the far turn and could not offer much response. Tom Hemsley, an assistant to Appleby, said in a post-race interview that Ottoman Fleet will ship on Monday to Saratoga, where Appleby has established a string for the summer meeting that begins in less than two weeks. "I'm sure Charlie will sit down and make plans with this horse going forward. ... I'm sure he's got a good season ahead," Hemsley said. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.