NYRA photo Photo

Paret paces 38-1 Tiller upset

by Keith McCalmont

ELMONT, N.Y. - Matthew Schera and Orangella Racing Stable's Paret led at every point of call to capture Thursday's $80,000 Tiller, a 1 3/8-miles turf test for older horses at Belmont Park.

Trained by James "Chuck" Lawrence II, the Australian-bred Paret was making his first start since a runner-up effort in the Point of Entry in October 2019 at Belmont Park.

Sent to post at odds of 38-1 under Jorge Vargas, Jr., Paret proved prominent throughout, overtaking Noble Indy into the opening turn and leading through solid splits of 23.90 and 49.67 on a Widener turf course rated firm.

Multiple Grade 1-winner Channel Maker settled in fourth position down the backstretch with graded-stakes winner Current to his outside in fifth. Grade 1-winner Sadler's Joy, the 5-2 mutuel favorite, raced from last-of-12 under Hall of Famer Javier Castellano as Paret extended his lead into the final turn.

Dot Matrix, with Joel Rosario up, made a menacing move as the field straightened away and took dead aim at the leader. Paret, under strong urging from Vargas, Jr., continued to find more and held on to score a head win in a final time of 2:14.05. Dot Matrix held for second, two lengths in front of the late-running Sadler's Joy.

Rounding out the order of finish were Highland Sky, Current, Standard Deviation, Corelli, Channel Maker, Hayabusa One, Go Poke the Bear, Petit Fils and Noble Indy. Focus Group and main-track only entrants Rocketry and Its All Relevant were scratched.

Lawrence said Paret was training well for his seasonal debut at Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland.

"We've been working with this horse, trying to just get him to chill out and turn off and it obviously worked," said Lawrence. "What a nice horse; he gets all the credit.

"This horse gets turned out at five every morning in his own paddock," added Lawrence. "Then we train him a few days a week out back on the hills. He trains primarily on Michael Dickinson's Tapeta surface and he just thrives on it. We turn him out rain or shine every day and he just loves it."

Vargas, Jr., aboard Paret for the first time, said he followed the veteran conditioner's instructions to the letter.

"Chuck told me he had been away for a few months and was a little sharp, so I let him be happy. He was sharp, so I just let him go the lead," said Vargas, Jr. "When he hit the backstretch, he jumped to the right lead and relaxed and came back to me. I thought from there I was going to be okay."

Vargas, Jr. said Paret demonstrated good energy throughout the turf marathon event.

"I asked him before we hit the turn. I knew it was pretty early, but I wanted to see what I had and he gave me some," said Vargas, Jr. "I sat back and waited a little more, and when I asked him to run again, he jumped and was ready to fight."

The victory marked the first win for Paret since August 2018 when Paret captured the 7 ½-furlong Pacific Boating Handicap in Australia at Rosehill for trainer Chris Waller and Hugh Bowman of Winx fame.

Bred in Australia by Qatar Bloodstock, Paret improved his record to 5-2-5 from 22 starts. He paid $78.50 for a $2 win ticket.

Live racing resumes Friday with a 10-race card highlighted by the $80,000 Harmony Lodge in Race 9. The card will also feature a Late Pick 5 carryover of $327,647 set to kick off in Race 6 at 3:59 p.m. Eastern. First post is 1:15 p.m