Therapist draws off in three-horse Cab Calloway

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y – The Cab Calloway may not have been the most compelling $100,000 stakes of the meet after scratching down to just three starters. But the second division of the New York Stallion Series for 3-year-olds on the turf did produce a noteworthy performance by the prohibitive favorite Therapist, who drew off to a convincing 5 1/2-length victory over his two overmatched rivals going a mile on the turf Monday at Saratoga.

Therapist, a 3-year-old son of Freud, was coming off a popular two-length triumph going seven furlongs in the opening leg of the series six weeks earlier at Belmont Park. He was equally sharp in leg two, biding his time behind the pacesetting Collective Effort before engaging the leader at the top of the stretch and pulling away readily under steady urging from his regular rider Irad Ortiz Jr. to the wire. Collective Effort readily outlasted the only other member of the field, Ten Eyck, to be second.

The win was the sixth in eight starts for Therapist, whose only two setbacks came against open company in the Grade 3 Palm Beach and Grade 2 Penn Mile earlier this year. Therapist is owned by Oak Bluff Stables, who bred him in partnership with his trainer, Christophe Clement.

Therapist completed the distance in 1:37.94 over a turf course officially listed as good and paid $2.70.

“We were a touch aggressive at Belmont going seven-eighths,” said Clement. “Today, we just thought no matter what to wait a little bit since he’s got a very good turn of foot. I know it was only three horses, but he ran well, he was impressive, and he didn’t have a hard race, which was great. To win for Oak Bluff Stables is a big deal for me. It’s wonderful to win for people who have a long-term relationship with us. I’m not really sure where we’ll go next. We’ll just enjoy this for a day or two.”