Lubash connects at 35-1 in Fifth Marine

Allowed to race uncontested on the lead under Jose Lezcano, Lubash pulled off a 35-1 upset in Friday’s $60,000 Fifth Marine Stakes over a yielding Widener turf course at Belmont Park.

Lubash ($72.50), a New York-bred 3-year-old son of Freud, went in fractions of 24.87 seconds, 49.93, and 1:13.83, and covered one mile in 1:38.32 while finishing 1 3/4 lengths ahead of Lighthouse Sound. It was another 2 1/2 lengths back to Asphalt.

Meanwhile, Nordic Truce, the 7-5 favorite, faded to sixth after stalking the front-runner for three-quarters of a mile. Radiohead, the 2-1 second choice, finished last, beaten 18 lengths.

Lubash was coming off a victory in a division of the New York Stallion Stakes on Aug. 11, in which he battled on the lead before drawing clear. Trainer Jim Ryerson said that previous attempts to rate Lubash were not successful.

“We tried to rate him a little and evidently that cost him more than we thought,” Ryerson said. “He’s evidently much better when he’s able to have things his own way. … When they let him loose today that helped us.”

The win was the first of the meet for Jose Lezcano, who had gone 0 for 25 to begin the Belmont fall season.