Mission Approved took them gate-to-wire at 21 in the grade I Woodford Reserve Manhattan Handicap this afternoon at Belmont Park, turning back bids from Bim Bam and Gio Ponti to win the race by two lengths.
Over a course labeled yielding, the seven-year-old gelding went straight to the lead and slowed the pace down, running three-quarters of a mile in 1:17 and change. In the meantime, favored Gio Ponti was far off the pace under Ramon Dominguez.
Turning for home, jockey Jose Espinoza asked Mission Approved for more run and the colt responded, kicking clear from the field and maintaining his advantage to the wire. Bim Bam, a 30-1 shot, rallied up the inside to finish second, a neck in front of Gio Ponti.
-Keelerman
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