Kharafa bursts through narrow gap to win Elkhorn
Kharafa had more than his share of traffic trouble during Saturday’s $75,000 Elkhorn Stakes at Monmouth Park. Forced to steady approaching the final turn and then with no room to run in midstretch, Kharafa still managed to get the job done under Paco Lopez to narrowly prevail as the 6-5 favorite.
“I thought we were in serious trouble,” trainer Tim Hills said. “The speed was stopping and horses were coming, but it didn’t look like he had any room.”
In addition, Kharafa hates being bottled up, Hills said.
“He doesn’t like being in tight and he doesn’t like being between horses,” Hills said. “Paco rode him like a fullback in a football game.”
Lopez finally found a narrow seam between Inchcape and Lochte. Kharafa ($4.40) surged late and got up to win the one-mile turf race by a neck. It was the third winner on the program for Lopez, who was aboard Kharafa for the first time since an eighth-place finish in the Grade 3 Appleton at Gulfstream Park in March 2014.
“I didn’t think I would ever find a hole, but finally there was an opening and he just went on through,” Lopez said. “I kept him down on the inside the whole way. I didn’t want to get caught wide, so I had to sit and wait and luckily it all worked out.”
In winning for the 10th time in 28 starts for owners Paul Braverman and Timothy Pinch, the 6-year-old New York-bred Kharafa covered the distance on firm turf in 1:34.39. His $45,000 share of the purse raised his bankroll to $756,137. Lochte finished second, a neck in front of Inchcape, who was a head in front of Cement Clement.
Hills said he will point Kharafa to the Grade 3 Oceanport on the Haskell Day undercard.