Beren catches Candy Man Rocket at wire in Gold Fever Stakes
Beren, under a persevering Manny Franco, wore down Candy Man Rocket and won the bob at the wire to win Sunday’s $100,000 Gold Fever Stakes by a nose at Belmont Park.
Candy Man Rocket, who looked clear at the eighth pole, had to settle for second, 6 1/2 lengths in front of Doubleoseven. The Wolfman was fourth, followed by American Gentleman.
Roderick, the 8-5 favorite, stumbled badly a couple of jumps out of the gate, unseating jockey Joel Rosario. Both the horse and jockey were uninjured.
Coincidentally, Beren stumbled at the break of the Grade 3 Bay Shore Stakes in April. In that race, he rushed up to press the favorite Drain the Clock before fading to finish fourth, 12 3/4 lengths behind him.
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On Sunday, Beren broke better under Manny Franco, who did a good job of moving his mount off the rail down the backside and into a stalking third, about four lengths off the pace set by American Gentleman.
Candy Man Rocket, under Junior Alvarado, stalked American Gentleman from second before taking the lead at the five-sixteenths pole. Candy Man Rocket, under confident handling from Alvarado, had a two-length lead at the eighth pole. But Beren, under a busy Franco, wore him down in the final strides.
“It was nerve-wracking, but Manny did a great job,” winning trainer Butch Reid said. “He got him straightened out and got him to switch leads and he finished really well.”
Beren, a son of Weigelia out of the 12-time stakes-winning mare Silmaril, covered the six furlongs in 1:11.25 and returned $8.60 as the third choice. Beren is owned and bred by Susan Quick and Christopher Feifarek.
“I just wanted to make sure he broke better than he did last time,” Franco said. “Today, he broke a step slow again, but I put him in the clear and he was comfortable after that.”