Dubacious upsets Jac's Fact in Best of Ohio Endurance
A month ago, Dubacious wasn’t able to stay in front throughout 1 1/4 miles despite getting away with extremely soft early fractions. Saturday at ThistleDown, Dubacious had to set swifter fractions, but this time the 4-year-old colt didn’t quit.
Sent to the front by jockey Jake Radosevich, Dubacious proved uncatchable in the $150,000 Endurance at 1 1/4 miles, the last of five stakes on the Best of Ohio program for statebreds. His victory foiled 7-5 favorite Jac’s Fact, who was seeking his fifth stakes win of the meet and sixth overall this season.
Dubacious ($13.60), 11th in last year’s Endurance in his first attempt going 10 furlongs, ran the distance in 2:06.20 after setting fractions of 48.42 seconds for a half-mile, 1:14.04 for six furlongs, and 1:39.42 for the first mile. In contrast, Dubacious, trained by Jeff Radosevich, faded after fractions of 49.62, 1:15 flat, and 1:40.84 in the Governor’s Buckeye Cup on Sept. 5.
In winning the first stakes of his 11-race career, Dubacious finished a length in front of Doctoriat. Jac’s Fact, who beat Dubacious by 1 3/4 lengths in the Governor’s Buckeye Cup, never seriously threatened the winner and had to settle for third.
In the other Best of Ohio stakes, all worth $150,000 apiece:
Needmore Flattery ($2.60) solidified her status as the season’s best Ohio-bred female with her fifth straight victory of the season in the 1 1/8-mile Distaff.
The two-time Ohio-bred Horse of the Year, Needmore Flattery, with Luis Colon aboard for trainer Tim Hamm and owners Bruce Ryan and Rolling Meadow Farm, took over from tiring pacesetter Floral Sky and scored by 2 1/4 lengths after completing the nine furlongs in 1:53.80.
Morant Bay rallied to pass Floral Sky to finish second at 22-1.
Needmore Flattery, third in last year’s Distaff as a 3-year-old, is now 5 for 7 this season and 16 for 26 lifetime.
Rivers Run Deep ($2.40) ran down pacesetter Candy Bites in deep stretch to win the Sprint for the second straight year. Ridden by Malcolm Franklin for Kentucky-based trainer Chris Hartman, the 4-year-old Rivers Run Deep made up a two-length deficit in the final furlong and drew clear by 1 3/4 lengths after completing six furlongs in 1:10.42.
Candy Bites, claimed for $20,000 out of a win just 10 days earlier, was second best, 3 1/2 lengths clear of Alliseeisgold.
Unbridled Trick ($17.20), a maiden trying a route for the second time, outfought 2-5 favorite Mickeys Sawyer by a head in the 1 1/16-mile Juvenile.
Making his fourth lifetime start for owner-trainer Jason DaCosta, Unbridled Trick raced head to head with Sawyers Mickey through the final furlong and managed to narrowly prevail under Walter De La Cruz despite getting bumped repeatedly. The winning time was 1:49.22.
Swayers Mickey, trained by Steve Asmussen and facing statebreds for the first time after beginning his career with two sprints at Saratoga, held onto second by a neck over My Pardner Cal.
School Board Prez ($5.20) got up by a head just before the wire in a three-horse photo with Star Mabee and Proper Discretion in the John Galbraith Memorial for 2-year-old fillies.
It was the third straight stakes win in as many career starts for School Board Prez, ridden by Jerome Lermyte for Chicago-based trainer Doug Matthews. Her time of 1:47.84 was nearly two seconds faster than 2-year-old males ran in the Juvenile one race earlier on the card.
Star Mabee nosed out Proper Discretion for second.
Cassie Lou, the early pacesetter, broke down in the stretch and Touch of Bling fell over the filly and did not finish.