Chelsea Durand / NYRA Photo

Pole Setter relentless in Paradise Creek

by Najja Thompson

ELMONT, N.Y. - Pole Setter, trained by Brad Cox for owner Steve Landers, went wire-to-wire to win the $100,000 Paradise Creek for 3-year-olds on the Widener Turf Course on Saturday at Belmont Park.

Breaking alertly from post 4 at odds of 4-1 with Luis Saez aboard, Pole Setter quickly darted to the front through splits of 23.21 seconds for the opening quarter-mile with the half in 46.21 under close watch from Mucho and 4-5 mutuel favorite Fog of War.

Pole Setter put away Mucho at the top of the stretch with Fog of War beginning to fade to the back of the pack, while 16-1 longshot Pulsate began a menacing run toward the leader from last. Put into a drive by Saez in the final sixteenth, Pole Setter extended away to secure his first stakes victory by 1 ¼ lengths. A steward's inquiry into the drifting stretch run of Pulsate was dismissed.

Pole Setter covered the seven-furlong distance on a firm Belmont turf in 1:20.77.

Pole Setter, who arrived at the Paradise Creek from a narrow nose score on April 7 in a sloppy Keeneland allowance sprint, was making his first start on the turf since finishing sixth last September in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile.

"I saw the race came up a few weeks ago and I didn't have many options with him," said Cox. "We shipped him up there and he settled in well. It was a step up for him but it worked out well. We'll look at the national stakes book and see what there is for him - dirt or turf."

Saez, aboard Pole Setter for the first time, said he felt comfortable throughout on the Take Charge Indy colt.

"He was fully prepared for this," said Saez. "I could feel it. He felt super good. He broke well and was rolling in a good spot, he was comfortable. When he came into the stretch, he just took off."

Pole Setter boosted his career earnings to $178,100, while improving his career record to three wins from eight starts. He returned $10.80 for a $2 win wager.

Following Pulsate in second was Strike Silver, Mucho, Uncapped, Fog of War and Ian Glass completing the order of finish.

Live racing resumes on Sunday at Belmont with a nine-race card featuring a $34,644 carryover in the Pick 6. First post time is 1:30 p.m. with the Pick 6 kicking off in Race 4 with an approximate post time of 3:08 p.m.