Flash recap: Lido Palace beats 'Albert' in Whitney

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Lido Palace surged past 4-5 favorite Albert The Great leaving the eighth pole and drew off for a two-length victory in Saturday's $750,000 Whitney Handicap on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course.

Albert The Great, the 124-pound highweight, held off a late-closing Gander for second by a neck. Perfect Cat was another neck back in fourth.

Trained by Bobby Frankel and ridden by Jerry Bailey, Lido Palace ($7.90) was fifth down the backstretch before launching a three-wide move that carried him past Albert The Great and the pacesetting Elite Mercedes in the stretch.

Final time for the 1 1/8 miles was 1:47.94.

Albert The Great, seeking a third straight graded stakes win, broke from the outside in a field of seven and stalked the leaders from third along the backstretch run. Winner of the one-turn Suburban and Brooklyn handicaps at Belmont Park, Albert The Great forged to the front on the turn, but came up empty when challenged by Lido Palace.

Lido Palace, who received a nine-pound weight edge in the Whitney, avenged a defeat at the hands of Albert The Great as he was second in the Suburban earlier in the month. The Grade 1 Whitney represented the 4-year-old's first graded stakes win in the United States. A stakes winner in Chile earlier in his career, Lido Palace's two previous races in the U.S. were second-place finishes in the Suburban and Hawthorne Gold Cup.

By finishing second, Albert The Great clinched the NTRA Champions Series and earned a total of $160,000 in bonus money.