Devamani makes Knickerbocker first stakes triumph

ELMONT, N.Y. - Devamani had run so well in his first two stakes tries earlier this year that trainer Chad Brown figured there was a significant race with his name on it. That race proved to be Sunday’s Grade 2, $150,000 Knickerbocker Stakes at Belmont Park.

Racing up close to a slow pace under Joel Rosario, Devamani took over from pacesetting En Wye Cee and pace-prompting Breaking the Rules in midstretch and edged clear to win the Knickerbocker by two lengths. Olympico, also trained by Brown, rallied to get second by a neck over En Wye Cee.

Breaking the Rules and Seismic Wave completed the order of finish.

The win was the first in a stakes for Devamani, a 6-year-old French-bred gelding by Dubawi, owned by Sanford Goldfarb and Samuel Abraham. It was also his first in six starts this year, all for Brown.

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Noting that Devamani got beat a nose in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Stakes in February and a neck in the Grade 2 Fort Marcy at Belmont in June, Brown said “this might have been his third stakes win since we had him.

“He’s a neat horse,” Brown added. “He’s a very well-bred horse. He was always meant to be a nice horse with his breeding and his looks and such. He’s probably just finding his prime now.”

Brown had tried blinkers on Devamani in the Lure Stakes last month at Saratoga, but they didn’t seem to make a difference that day as he finished third to Ballagh Rocks. Brown took the blinkers off Sunday and felt perhaps the blinker experiment left him with a sharper horse on Sunday.

Rosario said Devamani didn’t mind being within two lengths of the lead early as En Wye Cee set splits of 25.66 seconds for the quarter, 51.13 for the half and 1:15.58 over the yielding inner turf.

Rosario shifted Devamani to the outside for the stretch drive and he gradually made his way to the lead.

Devamani covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:51.78 and returned $8.80 as the third choice.

“I’m really pleased with two things today: his position early and the way he finished his race off and didn’t hang at all. I couldn’t be more proud of the horse.”

Brown felt Olympico was out of position early but said jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. “thought he gave him a really good run, he was just second-best today. Fortunately, he was able to squeeze out second.”

Brown said given Devamani has had a full campaign, he could potentially be put away for the remainder of the year. Olympico is entered in a sale this November, Brown said.