Evidently gets another chance
ELMONT, N.Y. – If at first you get disqualified, try, try again.
Evidently was disqualified from first place in a second-level allowance race here in July, and she returns to Belmont Park and to the same allowance condition in Friday’s $85,000 feature, set for 1 3/8 miles over the inner turf course.
Evidently was last behind a pedestrian pace and stuck behind a wall of horses in the stretch of that July 1 race. Room opened along the inside, jockey Joel Rosario rallied Evidently through, and they got up to win by a length. But Evidently bumped with Regardez, the favorite who finished fifth, and the stewards deemed that Evidently was at fault and disqualified her from first and placed her fifth.
Trainer Roy Lerman naturally disagreed, believing that Irad Ortiz Jr. on Regardez had initiated the contact.
“It was a problematic call at best,” Lerman said.
At Saratoga, Evidently twice competed in Grade 3 stakes, finishing fourth to Goldy Espony in the Waya on Aug. 8 and fifth to Wild Rose in the Glens Falls on Sept. 5. Lerman felt the Waya was the better of the two performances.
“With a little racing luck, she could have been second,” Lerman said. “The jockey had to make a decision. He went way wide and got bumped at the three-sixteenths, which no doubt cost her second.”
Luis Saez, aboard for that race, is back aboard on Friday, when Evidently breaks from the rail.
Topping the competition are Kitzys Rocket, 2 for 2 at Saratoga this summer; Bishop’s Pond, fourth in the Grade 3 Boiling Springs at Monmouth; and Queen’s Parade.
KEY CONTENDERS
Evidently (Last 3 Beyers: 86-88-84)
◗ Regardless of pace, she seems to always come with a late run.
“I’d always prefer a fast pace, but she’s capable, it seems, consistently to close,” Lerman said. “She does have a quick turn of foot at the end of a race.”
Kitzys Rocket (Last 3 Beyers: 87-79-74)
◗ She went 2 for 2 at Saratoga after finishing second to Trophee in a maiden race at Belmont in June. Her connections believe her improvement has more to do with stretching her out in distance and letting her race closer to the pace than it does a fondness for a particular turf course.
“We were trying to rate her too much,” said Robin Smullen, assistant to trainer Barclay Tagg. “Now it looks like the way she wants to run is to sit off the speed and be a little closer.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 5 Kitzys Rocket. Trainer Barclay Tagg is 26-1-2-5 with a $0.56 ROI over the past five years with last-out winners on turf at Belmont. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Queen’s Parade (Last 3 Beyers: 85-86-87)
◗ Has a solid 1-2-1 record from four starts at Belmont Park, including an allowance win going 1 1/4 miles.
◗ Trainer Shug McGaughey adds blinkers to the 4-year-old filly’s equipment.
Bishop’s Pond (Last 3 Beyers: 85-87-78)
◗ Won twice at longer distances before finishing fourth in Grade 3 Boiling Springs at 1 1/8 miles.
◗ Earlier in the year, she finished third in a maiden race behind Sentiero Italia, who has won two stakes, and Trophee, who has won twice as well.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Bishop’s Pond. Won at Saratoga two races back, and horses she defeated in that race went 9-4-0-2 in their immediate next starts. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan