Discreet Lover, trainer have first graded wins in Excelsior

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Discreet Lover’s victory in the Grade 3 Excelsior at Aqueduct on Saturday was meaningful on many levels for trainer Uriah St. Lewis.

The $150,000 Excelsior was the first graded victory for 5-year-old Discreet Lover, who is now 6 for 37. The race also was the first graded score for St. Lewis, who has been based at Parx Racing since 1989.

After the Excelsior, St. Lewis dedicated the win to the late jockey Jose Luis Flores, who rode Discreet Lover in 21 races.

“Jose used to ride this horse all the time. He rode most of my horses,” St. Lewis said. “I love Jose Flores. This win is for Jose.”

Flores rode Discreet Lover to a third-place finish in the Harrison Johnson Memorial at Laurel Park on March 17. Two days later he went down in a spill at Parx that cost him his life.

St. Lewis is a 60-year-old native of Trinidad and Tobago, a dual-island nation near Venezuela. He bought Discreet Lover for $10,000 as a 2-year-old at a Faisg-Tipton sale at Timonium.

Discreet Lover has now won three of his last six races

“He tries all the time,” Lewis said. “He eats good and doesn’t care whom he runs against.”

Discreet Lover stumbled at the start of the 1 1/8-mile Excelsior and grabbed a quarter. He lagged back in last position early as jockey Manny Franco bided his time.

On the front end, Zanotti set the pace on short lead while being dogged by Control Group and Harlan Punch. The trio set even fractions of 24.81, 48.72, and 1:12.70.

The leaders continued to battle in the stretch, but Franco sent Discreet Lover wide and in midstretch it was clear he was moving best. He hit the finish 2 1/2 lengths the best.

Discreet Lover paid $17.60 in the seven-horse field. He was timed in 1:50.45.

“He stumbled out of the gate and after that I didn’t want to use him too much,” Franco said. “I just sat and waited as long as I could because I didn’t want to move early, either. He finished very well.”

Zanotti held second by a neck over Harlan Punch. Backsideofthemoon finished fourth, two lengths farther back. Control Group was fifth, a neck behind Backsideofthemoon.

Harlan Punch broke slowly and then pulled his way to contention from between horses on the first turn.