Lord Eddard Stark ($123.00) stuns with H. Allen Jerkens win

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Patience certainly proved a virtue for jockey Leonel Reyes and Lord Eddard Stark, the pair rallying from far back to pull off a stunning upset, at odds of 60-1, over the 4-5 Utah Beach in Saturday’s $115,000 Allen Jerkens Handicap decided at two miles over the Gulfstream Park turf course.

Lord Eddard Stark was the second winner at odds in excess of 60-1 sent out by trainer Joe Orseno over the past week. His Tell Me Some Lies returned $138.00 after capturing a $12,500 conditioned claiming race over the Tapeta track here on last Saturday’s card.

The pace of the Allen Jerkens was predictably set by Prevent, although not quite in the manner one might have expected. The multiple stakesp-placed 3-year-old opened as much as a 20-length lead on the field during the early stages of the grueling event, remaining in front for more than 1 3/4 miles before finally overtaken by Utah Beach upon settling for the stretch run.

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Lord Eddard Stark, meanwhile, saved ground while biding his time racing in midpack. Still in seventh position entering the final turn, Reyes angled Lord Eddard Stark off the rail to commence his bid nearing the quarter pole, the pair finishing best of all down the center of the course to overtake the favorite in the final strides. Six Minus rallied belatedly to check in another 1 3/4 lengths farther back while finishing third in this event for the second straight year.

Lord Eddard Stark, a homebred owned by John Rowe, completed the distance over a firm course in 3:20.28 seconds. He returned $123.00 to his scattering of backers while earning his fifth victory in 28 career starts.

“We’ve been talking about trying to run him a mile and a half or two miles for a while now and we just didn’t have the opportunity,” Orseno said. “When this came up I said we have to take a shot. Until you try it, you never know. I wasn’t so concerned with the horse in front. I was happy he got a galloping trip, because in the morning that’s what the horse does all the time. He just gallops them into the ground. The riders always tell me the horse never gets tired. I couldn’t wait to run him this far.”

Five hours earlier, Rb Malexis A overcame a very wide trip to outfinish her more fancied stablemate, the 1-2 Diamond Gem Aa A, to upset the Grade 1 $130,000 UAE President Cup for Arabian horses. Rb Malexis A was one of three fillies in the field and one of four horses saddled by winning trainer Jerenesto Torrez.

Rb Malexis A was ridden to victory in the Grade 1 event by jockey Anardis Rodriguez. She paid $8.60.

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