Evening Attire wins

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Evening Attire closed furiously to wear down pacesetter Abreeze in Saturday's $300,000 over a track that had been kind to speed all afternoon.

Evening Attire won by 1 1/2 lengths. Dollar Bill, the favorite, finished third, 5 1/2 lengths behind Abreeze in the Grade 2 race.

The 1 1/4-mile Saratoga Breeders' Cup got off to a rocky start when Gander stumbled badly leaving the starting gate, pitching jockey Mike Smith to the ground. Smith was not injured, but took off his remaining mount in the 10th race. Gander appeared uninjured.

Gander, with the reins on his bridle dangling, was smack in the middle of his nine rivals on the first turn. Abreeze, with Richard Migliore in the saddle, had a clear lead heading down the backstretch. Gander began pressing Abreeze from the outside at around the five-eighths pole to the top of the stretch.

Migliore said Gander made Abreeze run faster than he would have if he were alone on the lead.

"It cost us the race," Migliore said. "Here's a horse carrying no weight alongside of you. This is another way to lose a race."

Evening Attire, who was ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan, came outside and wore down Abreeze deep in the stretch.

"He came running," Bridgmohan said. "[Gander] bothered us a little on the first turn. In the stretch, I took him outside so he wouldn't mind. Any moisture in the track helped him out."

Evening Attire ($9.90) covered the distance in 2:02.95 over a track labeled good.

Tom Kelly and Joseph and Mary Grant own Evening Attire, a 4-year-old son of Black Tie Affair. The gelding's trainer, Pat Kelly, said his ultimate goal for Evening Attire is the Breeders' Cup Classic at Arlington Park on Oct. 26.