A Lot cruises to victory in Paradise Creek

ELMONT, N.Y. – After watching A Lot gallop to a 5 3/4-length victory in Saturday’s $100,000 Paradise Creek Stakes at Belmont Park, Bill Mott, the trainer of A Lot, had a flashback.

“It looked like Paradise Creek breaking his maiden,” said Mott, who also trained the multiple Grade 1 stakes-winning turf horse for whom Saturday’s stakes was named.

Paradise Creek indeed won his debut by 11 lengths going seven furlongs at Belmont in July 1991. A Lot’s victory was only half the margin but was done with just as much ease.

Under John Velazquez, A Lot sat second, just off the flank of the pace-setting Bridget’s Big Luvy, who in his turf debut ran a quarter in 24.27 seconds and a half-mile in 47.91. Velazquez said he was expecting St. Louie to apply a little more pace pressure early, but that never happened.

Velazquez said he sat still on A Lot until upper stretch before letting him run, and A Lot left his pursuers. Croninthebarbarian, the second choice, outfinished Enjoy the Show by a nose for second. Behind him were, in order, Bridget’s Big Luvy, Alex the Terror, and St. Louie.

“I had to sit there, wait, wait, and by the five-sixteenths pole, I took a peek back, and they were right behind me,” said Velazquez, who won three races on Saturday’s nine-race program. “I gave him his head and at the three-sixteenths pole, let him do it, and he opened up pretty easily.”

A Lot, a son of Tapit owned by Amerman Racing, ran seven furlongs in 1:21.71 returned $3.10 as the 1-2 favorite. It was his third win from seven starts and enabled him to bounce back from a three-quarter length loss to Divisidero going 1 1/16 miles in the Grade 2 American Turf at Churchill Downs three weeks ago.

“There wasn’t a lot of speed in there. Preferably there would have been a little more speed to give him a target,” Mott said. “At a mile and a sixteenth or farther, he sort of hangs a little bit at the end. Going seven-eighths, he doesn’t hang. He keeps running on. He likes firm ground, which he got today.”

Mott said he probably would have to stretch A Lot out to at least a mile as there are very few places that offer stakes opportunities at seven furlongs. Mott had considered running in the Penn Mile next weekend at Penn National but thought this was the best place to win a stakes with him.

“The turf was firm. The distance was appropriate. I felt if everything came up right, I’d run him here,” Mott said.