Late-blooming North Dakota rallies late in stretch to win Red Smith (G3)

Allen Stable’s North Dakota utilized a patient trip and surged under jockey Jose Lezcano to overtake Red Knight in deep stretch to post a half-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 3, $100,000 Red Smith, a 1 3/8-mile turf route for 3-year-olds and up at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Fresh off earning a personal-best 97 Beyer Speed Figure when fourth to Red Knight in his stakes debut in the Grade 3 Sycamore on October 15 at Keeneland, North Dakota sat chilly in sixth position as 151-1 longshot Real Factor led the 11-horse field through the opening quarter-mile in 24.67 seconds before opening up a 10-length lead with the half in 48.79, three-quarters in 1:13.68 and a mile in 1:38.49 on the firm inner turf course.
Red Knight, under jockey
Jose Ortiz, made up ground and overtook the tiring pacesetter out of the final
turn. North Dakota maintained the pressure with a strong outside bid before
gaining the advantage in the final sixteenth and hitting the wire in 2:16.47
for his first stakes victory.
“I
watched the replay and last time, I think he had a little bit of trouble,”
Lezcano said. “I tried to give him a clean trip the whole way and not lose any
momentum. He progressed. Every pole was progress. As soon as he got to the
three-eighths pole, he switched gears. I hit him a couple times and he really
took off and went on with it and won the race. I think he's a very nice horse.
He's kind of one paced, but the longer he can go, the better for him.”
North Dakota, a half brother to graded
stakes-winner and prominent sire War Front, didn’t break his maiden until his
seventh career race, with the late-blooming 4-year-old son of Medaglia d’Oro
finally earning a winner’s circle trip in March at Tampa Bay Downs. Hall of
Fame trainer Shug McGaughey said he’s been pleasantly surprised by his
progress.
“He’s come a long way. I
wouldn’t have thought he would be running in the Red Smith back when he broke
his maiden at Tampa [on March 25],” McGaughey said. “He’s been up here from
Fair Hill. He had been training really well. I thought he had a big chance
today. He's got the pedigree to do it and wants a distance of ground. Jose is a
patient guy and I said just take your time with him and that's what he did and
it worked out for him.”
Off at 8-1, North Dakota
returned $19.40 on a $2 win bet. The Kentucky homebred improved his career
earnings to $157,325.
Red Knight, the winner of
last month’s Sycamore for fellow Hall of Fame conditioner Bill Mott, earned a
placing for the third consecutive graded stakes start, edging Ziyad by a head
for second. Red Knight, the runner-up in the Grade 3 Kentucky Turf Cup in
September at Kentucky Downs, moved to 8-7-1 in 22 career starts.
“My horse just fell out
of the gate and found his own place,” Ortiz said. “I thought I was in a good
position early on but when we went to the backside, everyone started worrying
about the horse up front being too far in front and we had to start moving. I
started moving and tried to get into position without using him much. I think I
had a good trip. I passed the winner going to the half mile pole to the
three-eighths pole. I passed him but then he came outside me to win the race.
Good trip, no complaints. We were just second-best.”
Sadler’s Joy, the 9-5 favorite
and defending Red Smith winner, finished fourth. Doctor Mounty, Aquaphobia, Postulation,
Real Factor, Tintoretto, Fame to Famous and Changi completed the order of
finish.
Live racing resumes Sunday at the Big A with a 10-race
card featuring a pair of New York Stallion Stakes Series contests, starting
with the $100,000 Thunder Rumble for 3-year-olds and up in Race 3 and the $100,000
Staten Island for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up in Race 9. First post is
11:50 a.m.