To Honor and Serve announced loudly and clearly that he is going to be a force in the handicap division this year, as he won the Westchester Handicap (gr. III) at Belmont Park this afternoon in a fashion that suggests he will be just about impossible to beat in the future.
Making his first start since winning the Cigar Mile Handicap (gr. I) last fall, To Honor and Serve got off to an excellent start against only three rivals and settled into the second position early on, rating comfortably while the speedy Bold Deed set a quick pace of :22.95 and :45.05. At one point, Bold Deed's lead was as large as seven lengths. Goombada Guska was racing in third, followed by Boys at Tosconova.
Rounding the turn, Bold Deed's lead began to evaporate, and To Honor and Serve was the first to take advantage of the situation. With a bold run on the far outside, he swept past the pacesetter following three-quarters of a mile in 1:09.79 and simply coasted home from there, drawing away under absolutely no urging whatsoever to win by about five lengths, stopping the clock for a mile in 1:34.84.
Boys at Tosconova rallied mildly for second, while Bold Deed held off Gommbada Gusko for third. It appears as though To Honor and Serve is the horse to beat heading in to the Metropolitan Handicap (gr. I) here at Belmont next month, where he will face, among others, Jackson Bend and Caleb's Posse.
-Keelerman
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