A lot of water passed under Flat Out’s bridge since last year’s Jockey Club Gold Cup victory, but Saturday at Belmont Park the 6-year-old son of Flatter, racing again over his favorite surface, wore down a stubborn Stay Thirsty through the final furlong to win the Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup for the second year in a row.
Trained by Hall-of-Famer Bill Mott (Scooter Dickey had him last year), Flat Out joined Curlin (2007-2008), Skip Away (1996-1997), Crème Fraiche (1986-1987), Slew o’Gold (1983-1984) and Shuvee (1970-1971) as a two-time winner of the Gold Cup since Kelso won it five years in a row (1960 through 1964).
The Gold Cup was the sixth of six “Win and You’re In” Breeders’ Cup Challenge races run on “Super Saturday” at Belmont, which attracted a paltry crowd of 8,639, pitiful even by NYRA standards. The winners of those stakes, five Grade 1’s and a Grade 2, get a free, expenses-paid ticket to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships Nov. 2-3 at Santa Anita.
The Jockey Club Gold Cup was a surprise package from the start when Ramon Dominguez gunned Stay Thirsty, third in last year’s Gold Cup but winless since the 2011 Travers, right to the lead, setting a rapid pace (23.49 and 47.21 seconds) under heavy pressure from 2011 Belmont Stakes winner Ruler On Ice and Stay Thirsty’s own stablemate, San Pablo.
Though those two eventually faded to finish last and next-to-last, Stay Thirsty kept on going, opening a clear lead as they turned for home, then repulsing a bid from 5-2 favorite Fort Larned to open up again in the stretch. Stay Thirsty proved a stubborn foe, but Flat Out, now 3-for-3 at Belmont, would not be denied, getting up in the final strides under strong handling by Joel Rosario to win by a head in 2:01.44 for the 1 ¼ miles.
“That other horse [Stay Thirsty] fought on pretty well,” Mott said. “We just had ours a little more ready, and it wasn’t by much.Both horses ran huge races, and you have to give a lot of credit to the horse who ran second. He ran his butt off.”
Flat Out paid $9.30 topping a $109.50 exacta. He will head for the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, which he lost last year as the favorite at Churchill Downs.
Super Saturday was super in more ways than one for Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, inducted this summer into the Racing Hall of Fame at Saratoga Springs.
When Velazquez booted home the 4-year-old Phipps homebred colt Point of Entry to win the Grade 1, $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic by 1¾ lengths over Treasure Beach, it was Johnny V’s third straight Grade 1 win, following scores in the Vosburgh aboard The Lumber Guy and the Flower Bowl on Euro-invader Nahrain.
Trained by Shug McGaughey, Point of Entry was favored at 3-5 coming off four straight wins on grass including the Man o’War and Sword Dancer. He tucked inside behind the crawling pace (:25.70, :51.99, 1:18.16) set by Little Mike, then found himself in a bit of a jackpot when Treasure Beach, after stalking the pace, suddenly blew past Little Mike to take the lead and open daylight on the far turn.
Hard-ridden by Velazquez, Point of Entry took up the chase, was forced very wide by Treasure Beach as those two turned into the stretch, but wore him down in a long drive to take command late, the 1 ½ miles run in 2:33.73 over the yielding course.
Bettors had the wrong horse, but the right outcome in the Grade 1, $400,000 Vosburgh at six furlongs, a “Win and You’re In” for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. Chiefly on the merits of the 6-year-old gelding Sean Avery, they made the Black Swan Stable/Barry K. Schwartz-owned entry the 2-1 favorite in a field of nine.
But it was Sean Avery’s 3-year-old entrymate The Lumber Guy, a New York-bred making his first start for trainer Mike Hushion since finishing sixth in the May 12 Peter Pan, who saved the chalk-players’ bacon.
Poseidon’s Warrior gunned to the front along the rail and was immediately hooked by Little Drama. Those two dueled through a quick pace of 22.57 and 45.06 seconds, with Sean Avery and The Lumber Guy right there with them. With a furlong to run, The Lumber Guy surged past Poseidon’s Warrior to score by 1 ¼ lengths.
“I like 3-year-olds versus older horses this time of year,” Hushion said. I’ve been telling Barry for the past five weeks that he’s been working like the real deal”