Saratoga: Go Unbridled upsets in Saratoga Dew

Tom Keyser

Go Unbridled wins the Saratoga Dew Stakes under Junior Alvarado.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Allen Jerkens doesn't win as many races as he used to, but the legendary Hall of Fame trainer sure knows how to get the most out of the ones he does, at least this summer at Saratoga.

Jerkens got his second win of the meet on Monday when Go Unbridled surprised even his mentor by rallying to an easy 6 1/2-length victory over 8-5 favorite Opus A in the $100,000 Saratoga Dew Stakes for New York-bred fillies and mares. His only other win of the Saratoga session came earlier this summer in the Grade 1 Prioress with Emma's Encore.

Go Unbridledrallied from near the rear of the field under Jockey Junior Alvarado to easily wear down the tiring Opus A inside the eighth pole before drawing off to a one-sided victory. The win was the first for Go Unbridled, a 5-year-old daughter of Unbridled Jet, since September of 2011.

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Opus A set the pace, withstood a challenge from Great Gracie Dane into the stretch but proved no match for the winner while outlasting Ginger Snapit by 1 1/2 lengths to finish second.

Go Unbridled, who is owned by Howard Whitbred, paid $12.20.

"Pretty surprising," said Jerkens. "Very surprising, very happy. She didn't gallop out very strong the other day [after her work], but the boy said she seems to know where the finish line is. She's been an old pro all her life. The boy's been galloping her good and strong, which is what got her good and fit. As Hirsch Jacobs used to say, it's much better to be surprised than disappointed."