Forewarned springs 42-1 upset in Queens County

by Keith McCalmont

Forewarned, owned and trained by Uriah St. Lewis, provided a 42-1 upset to make the grade in Sunday’s $125,000 Queens County, a nine-furlong test for 3-year-olds and up at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Patiently handled by Dexter Haddock, the 6-year-old son of Flat Out settled in seventh position as Empty Tomb and Backsideofthemoon battled for the lead through an opening quarter-mile in 23.46 seconds.

Empty Tomb, with Eric Cancel up, asserted command down the backstretch with Backsideofthemoon, piloted by Jose Lezcano, tracking in second position to the inside of Bal Harbour as the half-mile ticked by in 48.37.

Forewarned advanced with purpose approaching the final turn and was traveling well to the outside of Olliemyboy with little separation between the frontrunning trio of Backsideofthemoon, Empty Tomb and Bal Harbour.

Haddock asked Forewarned for more out of the turn and the longshot responded by overtaking a tiring Bal Harbour before surging past the stubborn Empty Tomb and Backsideofthemoon to secure a 1 1/4-length win in a final time of 1:51.90.

Empty Tomb completed the exacta by a head over Backsideofthemoon with Olliemyboy, who stumbled at the start, rounding out the superfecta.

The durable Forewarned, who now sports a record of 45-10-7-4, was purchased for $40,000 by St. Lewis’ Trin-Brook Stable in December 2018 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Mixed Sale.

The hard-knocking horse has raced 13 times this campaign with his lone win coming in the 10-furlong Best of Ohio Endurance, a race he was won the last three years.

“He was working well into this race. The thing with him is he wants longer distances,” St. Lewis said. “The longer the better and that’s what we were trying to do.”

The victory marked the second career stakes victory for Haddock, who said Forewarned benefited from the pace battle.

“I saw a couple of horses fighting up front around the first turn,” Haddock said. “I knew I had a lot of horse when I made my move and he came with a big run at the end. He was training so well in the morning, and he felt good today.”

Bal Harbour, Mystic Night, Bourbonic, You’re to Blame and Shooger Ray Too rounded out the order of finish.

Bred in Ohio by Preston Stables, Forewarned banked $68,750 in victory. He paid $86 for a $2 win ticket.

Live racing will resume Thursday, December 30 at the Big A and will feature a $49,302 carryover in the $1 Pick 6.

America’s Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the winter meet at Aqueduct Racetrack on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the winter meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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