Hog Creek Hustle pulls off upset in Woody Stephens

ELMONT, N.Y. – As the minutes ticked by and the replay was shown over and over on the infield board, jockey Corey Lanerie, standing just outside the winner’s circle, eyed the board nervously, fearful that he was about to be disqualified from a victory aboard Hog Creek Hustle in the Grade 1, $400,000 Woody Stephens on Saturday at Belmont Park.

When the announcement was made following the stewards inquiry that Hog Creek Hustle would stay up, Lanerie was relieved, admitting later he “could easily have come down.”

Instead, Hog Creek Hustle ($39.80) retained first in the seven-furlong race for 3-year-olds, looping the field in a race where late runners, all longshots, dominated. Hog Creek Hustle was best by a neck over 17-1 Nitrous, who was three-quarters of a length in front of 15-1 Borracho.

He gave trainer Vickie Foley her first Grade 1 stakes win.

“He’s a tough horse to ride,” Lanerie said. “If you pull on the right rein he goes inside. He put me in a bad spot.”

Hog Creek Hustle, rallying widest of all coming off the bend, came inward, causing Mind Control to check under John Velazquez. But the stewards let the result stand. Mind Control wound up eighth in the field of 11, which is where Hog Creek Hustle would have been placed if disqualified. Nitrous would have been promoted to first.

“I was worried,” Lanerie said.

The stewards, in a statement, said that "after reviewing the video and speaking to the riders involved" it was ruled that "the incident did not alter the order of finish."

The track had played towards speed all week, but Lanerie said it would have been counterproductive to try and change Hog Creek Hustle’s late-running style.

“I had no other choice,” he said.

Hog Creek Hustle was in front of one horse – Nitrous – in the early going as Strike Silver led through fractions of 21.92 seconds for the opening quarter and 44.53 seconds for a half. Several horses made menacing moves on the turn, most notably 2-1 favorite Honest Mischief, who loomed up at the top of the stretch after starting off poorly from his inside draw.

But he didn’t finish off his race, and Strike Silver began to weaken in the final furlong after six furlongs in 1:08.63. Hog Creek Hustle finished the seven furlongs on the fast main track in 1:21.12, staving off Nitrous late.

Hog Creek Hustle, a colt by Overanalyze, was scoring his first stakes win in this Grade 1 race. He had finished second most recently in the Grade 3 Pat Day Mile on the Kentucky Derby undercard five weeks ago at Churchill Downs.

He has now won three times in nine starts.

Hog Creek Hustle is owned by Something Special Racing, a partnership that inclues Patty Tipton, Beth Moore, Stewart Smith, Candace Minnich, Rex McClanahan, Haley Lucas, and Melissa Murphy.