Blinkers help Seabhac to maiden win in Pilgrim Stakes

ELMONT, N.Y. – Seabhac may have lost his first two starts, but trainer Todd Pletcher didn’t lose any confidence in the 2-year-old colt.

Entering him in the Grade 3, $200,000 Pilgrim Stakes despite his maiden status, Seabhac – pronounced “Ch-owk” and meaning hawk in Gaelic – rewarded his trainer’s faith by overtaking Looking Ready in midstretch and holding off Voting Control at the wire to win by a half-length at Belmont Park.

Voting Control finished second by a neck over Maraud as both the first- and third-place finishers were trained by Pletcher. Looking Ready finished fourth and was followed, in order, by Morrison, Stolen Pistol, Evaluator, and Desert Stone.

Seabhac was racing for the first time in blinkers, an equipment change suggested by John Velazquez, who had ridden the colt in his first two starts. Luis Saez rode Seabhac in the Pilgrim while Velazquez rode Maraud, on whom he had won a maiden race. Pletcher said he was initially planning to run Seabhac in the Bourbon at Keeneland with Velazquez on Oct. 8, but feared the horse might not get in the race if it overfilled because he was a maiden.

About a quarter of an inch of rain fell earlier in the day, taking the sting of what had been a firm and fast-playing turf course. Though still labeled firm, there were some large divots being kicked up from the rain-moistened turf.

With the blinkers, Seabhac broke sharp and put himself in a stalking position, 1 1/2 lengths behind Looking Ready who, under Irad Ortiz Jr., set fractions of 24.61 seconds for the quarter, 49.51 for the half-mile and 1:13.77 for six furlongs.

Seabhac and Saez set sail after Looking Ready turning for home, collared him inside the eighth pole and were able to hold Voting Control at bay at the wire. Seabhac, a son of Scat Daddy owned by Jerry Crawford’s Donegal Racing, covered the 1 1/16-miles in 1:43.48 and returned $12.80 as the third choice.

“Blinkers and experience, probably a combination of those things helped,” Pletcher said. “He ran good races both times at Saratoga he just encountered a bit of traffic especially in his first start. He seems like a talented colt that’s still figuring it out.”

Pletcher said that in midstretch he still thought Maraud had a chance to win.

“Johnny said the ground was slipping away from him a little bit when he really had to turn him loose and ask him,” Pletcher said. “I thought for his second start it was a good effort from him as well.”

Pletcher said both horses would be considered for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 3.

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Voting Control, under Javier Castellano got pinched at the break as both Maraud, to his outside, and Seabac, to his inside, broke into his path out of the gate. Castellano said a combination of that, a slow pace and soft ground “made it hard to get there.”