Joe Labozzetta Photo

Oscar Performance wires field to win G3 Pennine Ridge

by Brian Bohl

Amerman Racing's Oscar Performance relished the firm going and went gate-to-wire to capture the Grade 3, $200,000 Pennine Ridge for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles on Saturday at Belmont Park.

Oscar Performance won for the first time as a 3-year-old, breaking well from post 6 and setting sensible fractions of 24.43 seconds for a quarter-mile with the half going in 49.92.

Jockey Jose Ortiz piloted Oscar Performance close to the rail out of the far turn, where he outkicked the field in the stretch, including favorite Good Samaritan, to complete the firm inner turf course in 1:48.44, winning by 1 1/2 lengths.

"He's back," said Ortiz, who registered his third win of the day. "The last couple of races he was breaking bad and today he broke a little slow but I was able to get him going early a little better today. I'm glad where we were and I think the soft ground was in Kentucky was hurting him. Thankfully, we got firm turf today and he showed up."

 Off at 7-2, Oscar Performance returned $9.80 on a $2 win bet, notching his fourth win in seven career starts and first since winning the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf in November at Santa Anita. Trained by Brian Lynch, the son of Kitten's Joy improved his career earnings to $847,632.

"I'm thrilled to see him back in action," Lynch said. "You're always worried about being a one-trick pony as a 2-year-old and the Juvenile Turf curse, but he had been training so solidly in between, I've just got to put it down to the soft turf courses in Kentucky. He certainly liked it today, he relaxed lovely. I think he got some relatively kind fractions that if he was back to his best, he was going to quicken off them and he did. I think he really finished nice."

Oscar Performance, who ran five previous times at 1 1/16 miles, now has four wins in seven career starts. Lynch said he will now target the Grade 1, $1.2 million Belmont Derby on July 8.

"He got the mile and an eighth today and there's no reason to say that he won't get the mile and a quarter," Lynch said. "He was very comfortable, he saddled well, he handled everything. As a 2-year-old, he had the tendency to get a little bit hot, but he was calm and settled today. I thought he rated very kindly, and he had a really great turn of foot when he called on him."

Good Samaritan, trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, came off the pace to finish second.

Ticonderoga, for trainer Chad Brown, was third. Bowies Hero, Muggsamatic, Makarios and Secretary At War completed the order of finish. Prize Fight and Bonus Points were scratched.