Carmouche, Bank On Shea take advantage in Affirmed Success Stakes

Kendrick Carmouche took advantage of his inside draw and a poor start from the expected speed horse Winners Laugh to guide Bank On Shea to a front-running, one-length victory in Friday’s $100,000 Affirmed Success Stakes for New York-bred sprinters at Belmont Park.

Wudda U Think Now, who pressed Bank On Shea for the first half of the race, settled for second, 5 1/2 lengths clear of Big Engine. Runningwscissors was fourth, followed by Captain Bombastic, the 8-5 favorite, and Winners Laugh.

Winners Laugh did not break with the field. He was tossing and turning his head when the gates sprung and though it appeared the assistant starter had his hands on the colt, the stewards ruled that Winners Laugh “created his own problem at the gate and the starter did not interfere,” according to New York State Gaming Commission steward Braulio Baeza Jr.

Carmouche thought Winners Laugh was the horse he was going to follow early on in the race. But Carmouche said when he didn’t see Trevor McCarthy and Winners Laugh break, he said “well boys I’m going to the lead.”

Bank On Shea, who broke from the rail, and Wudda U Think Now dueled through an opening quarter in 22.80 seconds. At the five-sixteenths pole, Carmouche asked Bank On Shea to spurt away and he gained some separation from that horse. Though Wudda U Think Now tried to re-engage in the stretch, Bank On Shea had enough left for the victory.

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Bank On Shea, a 4-year-old son of Central Banker owned by Shea D Boys Stable and trained by Tyler Servis, covered the six furlongs in 1:09.86 and returned $16.40 to win. He improved his record to 4-1-1 from six starts.

Servis took over the training of Bank On Shea after his uncle, Jason Servis, had his license suspended in March 2020 for allegedly administering misbranded and likely banned substances to his horses.

Tyler Servis had the horse well-prepared to win a first-level allowance race on March 19 at Aqueduct off a 13-month layoff. He said the horse came out of the race so well he was confident when he called Carmouche on Friday morning.

“I said this horse is doing so good we don’t have to have the lead,” Servis said. “I know riders they get uptight about the one hole and they want to send their horse. Once we got to the paddock, I loved the way he looked and told Kendrick you just ride your race. When he saw Trevor broke a step slow he said ‘I felt like I had to take it.’ It was the best move.”