Kharafa captures Ashley Cole for second time
Round 11 between Kharafa and Lubash turned out to be no contest. Rebounding from a tough trip in the Oceanport at Monmouth Park, Kharafa powered clear through the stretch to win Sunday’s $125,000 Ashley T. Cole Stakes decisively under Javier Castellano at Belmont Park.
The slate between the two New York-bred stalwarts now stands at 2-2 in the A.T. Cole over the past four years, with Lubash taking the 1 1/8-mile turf race in 2012 and 2014, and Kharafa adding this edition to his triumph in 2013, when he beat Lubash by a head.
Kharafa ($6) was content to track three wide as longshot More Zen Tea established slow early fractions. He ranged up outside the leaders in upper stretch, and drew off steadily to win by two lengths as the co-second choice. Runaway Posse rallied from last to finish second, with Iron Power third, and Lubash fading to fourth as the 3-2 favorite.
“The one thing about this horse, he needs to relax and stay covered up,” said Castellano, who has now won aboard Kharafa six times. “Today he really surprised me. He was laid back, off the bridle, just followed the other horses in a nice, good rhythm. Turning for home, I just asked a little bit, pushed the button, and he just took off.”
In notching his 11th victory from 30 starts, Kharafa ran 1 1/8 miles on a firm inner turf course in 1:49.13, and earned $75,000 to boost his career bankroll to $835,137.
“He was so relaxed, which is a problem we’ve had before with him getting rank,” noted trainer Tim Hills. “[Javier] had him relaxed nicely and he just exploded. I’m not going to give him instructions any more other than ‘Good luck.’ ”