Kharafa, Lubash clash for 12th time in Mohawk
ELMONT, N.Y. – Longtime rivals Kharafa and Lubash meet for the 12th time Saturday in the $200,000 Mohawk Stakes at Belmont Park, one of eight stakes on the 11-race Empire Showcase Day card.
Kharafa and Lubash have alternated beating each other the last nine times they’ve met dating to September 2013. In last month’s Ashley T. Cole, Kharafa won, while Lubash finished fourth. In May, Lubash beat Kharafa when they finished one-two in the Kingston here at Belmont.
The big question coming out of the Cole is whether Lubash, with 44 races under his belt and now late in his 8-year-old career, is tailing off.
“You are concerned when they run below form,” said Christophe Clement, the trainer of Lubash. “He’s trained well. He looks great. We might just his change his style. He was a touch aggressive last time. We might just break and wait a little bit this time and make him finish and see what happens.”
This will be the fifth time Lubash is running in the Mohawk. He has finished second three times and 10th once.
Kharafa won last year’s Mohawk after finishing 10th in 2013. Tim Hills, the trainer of Kharafa, said he is confident entering this year’s Mohawk.
“At the same time, I think we’ll be the favorite, and that makes me nervous – we’re supposed to win,” Hills said. “The horse couldn’t be more confident, and I think with Javier [Castellano], you give him a leg up and say, ‘Good luck.’ ”
There is not much speed in the field, which could make Notacatbutallama dangerous. Iron Power potentially could show speed as well.
The card concludes with the $200,000 Ticonderoga for fillies and mares on turf. Discreet Marq, a Grade 1 winner, won this race last year as the 3-5 favorite in a 12-horse field. She finished fifth as the 1-2 favorite in the Yaddo at Saratoga in her most recent start.
Full sisters Distorted Beauty and Invading Humor, both trained by Bruce Levine, as well as Old Harbor and The Tea Cups, are Discreet Marq’s main rivals.
Mohawk, Race 7
KEY CONTENDERS
Kharafa (Last 3 Beyers: 88-76-95)
◗ Did not get a big Beyer in winning the Cole, but Hills believes that was due to a lack of pace in the race.
“The way the race unfolded, the pace was slow,” Hills said. “He looked good doing it. I’m not concerned about the number.”
◗ Has put in two bullet works on dirt at Monmouth Park leading up to this.
“I’ve been working him in company. He sits off of horses and finishes up good,” Hills said. “He comes off the track with his chest puffed up.”
◗ Has finished first or second in 12 of 15 starts over Belmont’s turf course.
Lubash (Last 3 Beyers: 78-93-97)
◗ After finishing in the top three in 14 consecutive starts, he ran a lackluster fourth in the Ashley T. Cole.
◗ Has finished first or second in 15 of 23 starts over Belmont’s turf course.
Ticonderoga, Race 11
KEY CONTENDERS
Discreet Marq (Last Beyers: 80-98-93)
◗ Trainer Clement takes the blame for Discreet Marq’s non-effort when fifth in the Yaddo at Saratoga.
“I ran her very unfit at Saratoga. It was a training mistake,” Clement said. “I gave her three works, and she worked so easily all the time.”
Distorted Beauty (Last 3 Beyers: 63-90-88)
◗ Returns to New York-bred company for the first time since the summer of 2014, when she won a pair of allowance races.
◗ Before finishing seventh in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl, she won a third-level allowance race nicely at Saratoga. The runner-up from that race, Rosalind, came back to run third in the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor. The third-place finisher from the Spa race came back to win a Belmont allowance.
The Tea Cups (Last 3 Beyers: 83-86-82)
◗ Rallied from last to win the Yaddo at Saratoga before coming up short behind Old Harbor in the John Hettinger Stakes here Sept. 20.
◗ The turnback from 1 1/8 miles to 1 1/16 miles should aid The Tea Cups, who got four of her five wins at that distance.