OZONE PARK, N.Y. - There were always high hopes for Doppelganger, from his price tag to his pedigree to his high-profile connections. After two relatively disappointing seasons, Doppelganger finally seems to be fulfilling his promise. Saturday, sent off the longest shot in a six-horse field, Doppelganger came with a strong late run under Jevian Toledo to upset the Grade 1, $300,000 Carter Handicap by 1 1/4 lengths at Aqueduct. Repo Rocks, the 4-5 favorite based on a quartet of stakes victories since being transferred to trainer Jamie Ness, was never a threat to win, but did get up for second by a nose over a resurgent Expressman. Today’s Flavor, Bold Journey and Little Vic completed the order of finish. Little Vic was reported to have bled. White Abarrio, the 2-1 second choice on the morning line, was scratched due to an illness. :: Bet the races on DRF Bets! Sign up with code WINNING to get a $250 Deposit Match, $10 Free Bet, and FREE DRF Formulator.  The victory was the first in a Grade 1 stakes for trainer Brittany Russell and jockey Jevian Toledo. Russell, whose previous graded stakes win came in the 2021 Bold Ruler here with Wondrwherecraigis, watched from Maryland. “I was going to go up, but a snowball of events happened that I couldn’t get on the road early enough,” Russell said by phone. “I sent my assistant Emma [Wolfe] from Delaware. I can’t believe I’m not there.” Doppelganger, a son of Into Mischief purchased for $570,000 by a group that includes SF Racing, Starlight Racing and Madaket Stables, had gone 1 for 6 in California for Bob Baffert. Doppelganger was sent to Russell last summer, but she deduced he needed more time and the horse was turned out for three months. He returned to the races with allowance wins at Laurel in January and February. Russell said that Doppelganger came out of his February victory with a virus, making that performance more impressive. The decision was made to enter the Carter and see how it came up before deciding to run. Repo Rocks was a heavy favorite, but the scratch of second choice White Abarrio on Friday due to illness made the decision to run a no-brainer. Toledo had Doppelganger fifth of six early as Today’s Flavor, Expressman and Little Vic went at each other through a half-mile in a swift 44.84 seconds. Repo Rocks, the 4-5 favorite, was well back in fourth under Andrew Wolfsont. Toledo had Doppelganger wide early on, but going into the far turn he moved over to the rail to save ground. In upper stretch, Toledo guided Doppelganger outside again with several cracks of his whip, and Doppelganger came with a late run and to the leaders inside the sixteenth pole and edged clear. Doppelganger covered the seven furlongs in 1:23.25 and returned $37.80. “The couple of times I rode him at Laurel I always kept him in the clear,” Toledo said. “That’s what I tried today. When the turn came, of course I got to come over and save some ground - I don’t want to [be] wide all the way. I came over and save the ground, and in the stretch I took him again into the clear, and when he sees the clear in the stretch he just took off.” Repo Rocks never truly looked comfortable in the Carter. He attempted to bear out around the turn but did show some grit to get second. “I think there was adequate pace for where we were at, I just don’t think it was his day,” Wolfsont said. “He was lugging out a little bit on the turn, but even still down the lane he gave a huge effort in between horses to finish second, so I’m very happy with the horse.” Russell said Doppelganger would return to her stable at Laurel Park and a game plan would be made for his next start. The Grade 1, $1 million Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park on June 10 is one possibility. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.