Lobsta takes Say Florida Sandy after My Boy Tate disqualified

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - For the second time in four years, My Boy Tate crossed the wire first in the $100,000 Say Florida Sandy Stakes. This time, however, he didn’t leave Aqueduct the winner.

Though My Boy Tate outfinished Lobsta by a neck, he was disqualified and placed fourth by the stewards for interfering with Chestertown at the eighth pole and Lobsta was declared the winner. Battle Station, who finished third, was moved to second while Chestertown was elevated to third in the stakes for New York-breds.

Saratoga Pal finished fifth, followed by Alpha Chi Rho, who, after setting the pace for the opening half-mile, checked sharply under Jose Ortiz just above the eighth pole and finished last.

Ortiz claimed foul against Battle Station, ridden by Kendrick Carmouche, for causing him to check but the stewards dismissed that claim.

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The stewards did allow the claim of foul from Jose Lezcano, the rider of Chestertown who alleged interference against Eric Cancel and My Boy Tate. Toby Sheets, the assistant to Chestertown’s trainer Steve Asmussen, also claimed foul.

My Boy Tate, who was fourth early, split horses in midstretch, but, under a right-handed stick from Cancel, did bump with Chestertown, knocking him off stride. Cancel felt he was pushed into Chestertown due to horses pressuring him from the outside.

“Jose Lezcano and I were there, Jose Ortiz was on the outside so we had room enough to go, but once they started putting pressure from the outside that’s when it got bad,” Cancel said. “I tried to maintain my spot because if I tried to take a hold it might have been worse, I might have gone down.”

Meanwhile, Lobsta, kept wide most of the way by Javier Castellano, was the beneficiary of all the jostling going on inside. Lobsta was three- to four-wide down the backside and five-wide in the stretch.

“I think I got lucky, I was on the outside, right place, right time to finish second,” Castellano, who came up from Florida to ride Lobsta for the second straight time. “He kind of got a little bit tired with the track today. Don’t get me wrong, he tried really hard, he fought really hard to the end.”

Gary Sciacca, who trains Lobsta for Eddie Fazzone, was happy to see his horse run as well as he did coming back four weeks after a lifetime best performance. Sciacca was not apologizing for getting the victory in the stewards’ stand.

“That’s okay, they pay the same don’t they?” Sciacca said. “He showed he’s for real. He ran great. I’m real pleased with him.”

Lobsta, a son of Emcee, returned $7.40 as the second choice. The final time for the seven furlongs over a fast, but dull track, was 1:25.63.