Favored Jakkalberry rallied strongly from off the pace to win the inaugural running of the $400,000 American St. Leger Stakes on Saturday afternoon at Arlington Park.
Ridden to victory by Colm O'Donoghue, Jakkalberry was content to race in the fifth position during the early stages of the 1 11/16th miles race, about six lengths behind pace-setting Ioya Bigtime, who rattled off slow fractions of :50.82 and 1:15.43 while leading the way by several lengths. Bridge of Gold, Zuider Zee, and Lumberyard Jack were his closest pursuers, with Lake Drop, Lethal, Helicopter, and Lemonade Kid trailing the field.
The positions remained relatively unchanged through the first mile of the marathon race, but rounding the final turn, Jakkalberry began to advance on the far outside and set his sights on Ioya Bigtime, who had opened up a 2 1/2-length lead and looked almost impossible to catch. However, Jakkalberry simply had too much left in the tank, rallying past Ioya Bigtime in the vicinity of the eighth pole and inching away for a 2 1/4-length triumph in 2:49.01.
Ioya Bigtime finished 6 1/4 lengths in front of Zuider Zee, who held on to third over Lake Drop. Lemonade Kid, Helicopter, Lumberyard Jack, Lethal, and Bridge of Gold completed the order of finish. The winner is trained by Marco Botti.
-Keelerman
No comments:
Post a Comment