Fellowship relishes two turns of In Reality

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla .- Not much surprise seeing trainer Stanley Gold and owner-breeder Fred Brei standing in the winner’s circle after Saturday’s $500,000 In Reality Stakes at Gulfstream Park. What was surprising is the horse they were posing next to, the 12-1 Fellowship, who rallied from last to first to post a convincing 4 1/2- length victory over stablemate Abercorn in the final leg of the open division of the Florida Sire Stakes.

Fellowship finished fifth and seventh while never a threat in the opening two legs of the series, the six-furlong Dr. Fager and seven-furlong Affirmed. But two turns proved just what the doctor ordered for Fellowship, a homebred son of Awesome of Course.

With jockey Jose Caraballo aboard, Fellowship rated at the rear of the 14-horse field for the opening five furlongs of the1 1/16mile In Reality, commenced his bid on the far turn, and was full of run while six wide entering the stretch. Fellowship readily overtook the tiring leader Call to Honor nearing the eighth pole and then drew with complete authority at the end.

Abercorn raced well placed and finished willingly to be second best while no match for the winner. Li’l Meatball outlasted the others to be third. Tribal Drama, the 8-5 favorite, raced forwardly to the stretch but had nothing left down the lane, finishing a 10h while suffering his first loss in three starts.

Fellowship covered the distance in 1:46.13 and paid $26.

“It was a good end to a bit of a frustrating day,” said Gold. “You should be happy with a couple of seconds and a couple of thirds but you always want to win and you get a little dejected when you don’t. But it’s always nice to win the last one.”

Gold said he felt the distance suited all three of his In Reality starters better than any of the other horses he ran earlier in the card, including short-priced, beaten favorites Ballet Diva in the My Dear Girl and Dogwood Trail in the Meadow Star.

“I’m not sure what happened to him in his last race,” Gold said of Fellowship. “He broke good and took himself back to last. I thought it might have been the blinkers but Jose said not to take them off. He didn’t run badly but he didn’t run like I expected. Today he laid back and finished strong.”

Fellowship was the last in a series of upsets registered throughout the afternoon’s six Florida Sire Stakes. The only favorite to win was Andreya’s Reward ($6), who outfinished an unlucky Harlan’s Darlin to capture the $75,000 Our Dear Peg Stakes for 2-year-old fillies on turf. Jesus Rios rode Andreya’s Reward for trainer Milt Wolfson.

Golden Pirate ($51.20) was the longest priced of Saturday’s Florida Sire Stakes winners after upsetting the $75,000 Armed Forces for 2-year-olds on grass. Golden Pirate, making his turf debut, outlasted late runners Imperial Warrior and J R’s Holiday to capture the Armed Forces under jockey Miguel Vasquez. Juan Rodriguez trains Golden Pirate.