All the Way Jose sticks to the script to win Lonesome Glory

ELMONT, N.Y. – In the end, All the Way Jose didn’t need help from his namesake hurricane in order to win Thursday’s Grade 1, $150,000 Lonesome Glory Handicap at Belmont Park.

Taking over after the eighth of 10 fences, All the Way Jose took the field the rest of the way and held off the favored Modem to win the Lonesome Glory by 1 1/4 lengths over a firm turf course. It was a neck farther back to Swansea Mile in third.

Jonathan Sheppard, the Hall of Fame trainer of All the Way Jose, said on Monday he was hopeful the remnants of Hurricane Jose would drop some rain on the Belmont turf course and make it soft, believing it would help his gelding’s cause. But the forecasted rains never came, and the turf was firm for Thursday’s card.

No matter. The plan to keep All the Way Jose in the race from the outset paid off.

Under Darren Nagle, All the Way Jose sat in second behind Charminster for more than 1 3/4 miles of the 2 1/2-mile race. The lightweight at 142 pounds, All the Way Jose took the lead after the eighth fence, jumped mistake-free over the final two fences, and outlasted the 156-pound highweight, Modem, through the final half-mile of flat racing to get the victory.

All the Way Jose, a 7-year-old gelding by Senor Swinger owned by Buttonwood Farm, covered the 2 1/2 miles in 4:33.37 and returned $8.70 as the second choice.

“It worked out almost exactly as we hoped,” said Sheppard, who also bred All the Way Jose. “He was going to jump him off, sit where he’s comfortable – on or close to the lead – and it worked out nicely. He got someone to carry him the first part of the race. He jumped great, Darren gave him a very good, patient ride, and he kept on going.”

For Nagle, it was his first Grade 1 victory in a steeplechase race run at a Thoroughbred track. He was riding in place of Keri Brion, the horse’s regular rider and an assistant to Sheppard. Brion is an apprentice rider, and earlier this year the National Steeplechase Association banned apprentice riders from riding in steeplechase races at Saratoga and Belmont.

“I feel a bit disappointed for Keri Brion, who’s the horse’s regular rider,” Nagle said. “As [Sheppard’s] assistant, she does a lot of the work with him, but I’m sure she’s delighted as well.”

• Moscato ($3.40) lived up to his 3-5 favoritism by dominating the $75,000 William Entenmann Memorial by 3 1/2 lengths over New Member.

Moscato, a 6-year-old Britain-bred gelding trained by Jack Fisher and ridden by Sean McDermott, covered the 2 1/4 miles in a posted time of 3:56.56, which, if accurate, breaks the course record of 4:02.26 set by Popular Gigalo in 1999.