Mandaloun adds excitement to Pegasus victory
Mandaloun came close to winning the 2021 Kentucky Derby as a 26-1 shot and nearly lost his first race since, the $150,000 Pegasus Stakes, as a 3-10 favorite Sunday at Monmouth Park.
Mandaloun and jockey Florent Geroux surged to a solid lead at the eighth pole and appeared to be on the way to a clear victory, but Mandaloun tried to wait on his rivals and Weyburn, passed by the winner in midstretch, came within a neck of catching him.
“He was still running pretty good at the end,” Geroux said. “He had to work for it, but I don’t think it was a really hard race on him. He did not come back blowing hard at all.”
Mandaloun’s finish wound up close, while being in close quarters at the start impacted his finish. Breaking from post 2, Mandaloun got away a half-beat slow and was slightly pinched back a few strides out of the gate. Rather than rush into the fray, Geroux took a hold of his mount and dropped back to last, a deviation from Mandaloun’s normal running style. In the Derby, for instance, Mandaloun stalked Medina Spirit’s quick pace.
The Pegasus pace failed, really, to materialize, with longshot Lugamo leading Weyburn through a dawdling quarter and half in 24.67 and 48.61. Lugamo threw in the towel bending into the far turn as Weyburn, the Gotham Stakes winner, took command and raced in the clear past the three-furlong pole, heading to the homestretch.
Geroux, meanwhile, had angled Mandaloun to the far outside and Mandaloun made up several lengths through the Pegasus’s fastest portion, a third quarter-mile, around the far turn, that went in 23.80 seconds. Mandaloun pounced on Weyburn, bested him at the three-sixteenths pole and began drawing away, only to idle after hitting the front, holding on at the finish and quickly passed during the gallop-out. Given Geroux’s comment about Mandaloun coming back fresh, it’s fair to wonder if Monmouth’s strict rule against jockeys using the whip to encourage a horse played a part in the outcome.
Mandaloun ($2.60) ran 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in a modest 1:44.63. Give Weyburn some credit for finishing solidly while making his first start since April 3. He and Dr Jack raced nearly on even term at the furlong grounds, but Dr Jack, who finished third, was 2 1/2 lengths behind Weyburn at the finish. Brooklyn Strong finished a distant fourth while Lugamo jogged home in last.
Mandaloun stands to become the Kentucky Derby winner if Medina Spirit is disqualified for his drug positive. Brad Cox, who trains Mandaloun for his breeder, Juddmonte Farms, won the Belmont Stakes with Essential Quality, who had been fourth in the Derby, and has that colt aimed toward the Travers Stakes at Saratoga while sending Mandaloun down a different path. Cox shipped Mandaloun to Monmouth from his Churchill Downs base using this start as a prep for the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational next month. And while Mandaloun failed to visually impress, Cox pointed out that circumstances went against him Sunday.
“We thought he might be on the lead or tracking a couple,” Cox said. “We found ourselves last going into the first turn. But, overall, it was a big effort. I think he closed into a soft pace. He probably had to start his run a touch early given the fact that he was last. He ran a big race.”
Mandaloun, by Into Mischief out of Brooch, by Empire Maker, won for the fourth time in seven starts, adding a second stakes win to his Grade 2 Risen Star victory in February. That race marked Mandaloun’s first with blinkers, added to help his focus, but as the favorite in the Louisiana Derby Mandaloun was a no-show, finishing a distant sixth with no apparent excuse. Sunday’s performance either showed a colt still feeling the effect of his strong Derby performance, or a colt who has yet to become a truly professional racehorse. Whatever the case, Mandaloun will need more than this if he’s to win the Haskell in five weeks.