Into the Gray’s determined effort earned the 2-year-old Graydar colt a head victory in a one-mile maiden special weight affair at Presque Isle Downs on July 27.

The winner is the first for his sire, who stood the 2017 season at Taylor Made Stallions for $12,500. Graydar has been one of the most popular young sires of the past three years, breeding an average of 124 mares from 2014-16.

Into the Gray led the entire trip on Thursday, holding off a stretch-long challenge of Mileva to get the win (VIDEO).

The winner is owned by Twin Creeks Racing (who also campaigned Graydar) and Blazing Meadow Farm. Twin Creeks also bred the gray juvenile, who is out of their stakes-winning mare Cute Cognac, dam of three previous winners, including the graded stakes-placed Tesseron.