OCEANPORT, N.J. – The $1 million Haskell Invitational ended spectacularly, unfortunately, and in disqualification as Hot Rod Charlie, who crossed the wire a nose in front of Mandaloun, was taken down and placed last for causing Midnight Bourbon to clip heels and fall at the eighth pole. With Mandaloun coming through along the rail and odds-on favorite Hot Rod Charlie on the outside of the three horses, Hot Rod Charlie suddenly drifted in two or three paths. Paco Lopez on Midnight Bourbon, caught between Hot Rod Charlie and Mandaloun, checked his mount to no avail, as Midnight Bourbon clipped heels and fell to the Monmouth dirt. The two horses still standing battled to the wire, Hot Rod Charlie narrowly prevailing, but the inquiry sign quickly was lit and Monmouth stewards took little time to disqualify the winner. Midnight Bourbon leapt to his feet, galloping riderless past the finish and onto the backstretch before being caught by an outrider. He jogged back with the outrider’s pony toward the front-side, then turned around and headed the other direction to return to trainer Steve Asmussen’s barn, leaving the track under his own power. Asmussen didn’t immediately respond to a text message asking about the colt’s condition. :: Bet the races with confidence on DRF Bets. You're one click away from the only top-rated betting platform fully integrated with exclusive data, analysis, and expert picks. Lopez stayed down on the track during the inquiry and eventually was immobilized on a stretcher and taken off the track in an ambulance, but at the Monmouth first aid room about 15 minutes later, he was on his feet, reportedly only suffering from some knee pain. Lopez said he had been kicked in the knee. Jockeys at Monmouth this season can’t hit their mounts with the whip except in cases where their safety is threatened. Prat acknowledged that Hot Rod Charlie had drifted off his line but wondered if he might have been able to correct his mount with a crop. “My horse was lugging in a little bit,” Prat said. “The problem was I cocked his head and grabbed him, but there was little I could do. If I could just tap him left-handed. Every racetrack has different [rules]. I respect every decision.” Following Sea, who finished more than 18 lengths behind the top two, was placed second. Behind him came the three longshots – Antigravity, Pickin’ Time, and Basso. Mandaloun finished second in the Kentucky Derby and stands to be placed first in that race, too, should first-place Medina Spirit be disqualified because of a positive drug test. While Mandaloun couldn’t quite beat Hot Rod Charlie on the square Saturday, he improved upon his narrow victory here last month in the Pegasus Stakes. “He was way better than last time,” winning rider Florent Geroux said. “He travelled better, fought very hard. Hot Rod Charlie is a very tough customer, and he came back on him. I know Flavien was four or five paths outside me and came to the two path.” Following Sea left the gate running, Hot Rod Charlie outside him into the first turn and Midnight Bourbon three paths wide. Prat took back slightly and let Midnight Bourbon go up to press a quarter-mile in 23.82 seconds and a half in 47.32 as Geroux and Mandaloun settled into the spot behind the leader and inside Hot Rod Charlie. :: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures Midnight Bourbon attacked Following Sea going into the far turn, and the pacesetter, trying two turns for the first time, offered little resistance. Prat shadowed Lopez’s his move, asking Hot Rod Charlie to follow Midnight Bourbon into the homestretch before tipping outside for a final run. Mandaloun, full of run at the quarter pole, slipped outside Following Sea, got back to the fence, and engaged the two outside him before the furlong pole. Hot Rod Charlie put in a final surge, running gamely himself, but his inability to keep a straight course cost him victory. Mandaloun paid $8.20 to win and was timed in a good 1:47.38 for 1 1/8 miles on a fast track. Mandaloun was given a 102 Beyer Speed Figure. Monmouth was hot and extremely humid Saturday, but brewing thunderstorms failed to materialize, and the dirt and turf stayed dry through the entire card. Attendance was 20,983, and total handle on the 14-race card was $16,414,535. Owned and bred by Juddmonte Farms, Mandaloun is by Into Mischief out of Brooch, by Empire Maker, and he ran his record to 5-1-1 from eight starts. Mandaloun won the Risen Star Stakes in February when trainer Brad Cox added blinkers, ran an inexplicably poor race finishing sixth in the Louisiana Derby, and rebounded with a fine second in the Kentucky Derby. “He just fell a half a head short. I saw Hot Rod Charlie start to get away from us a little bit, but then we were coming back,” Cox said. “I felt like he ran a winning race regardless.” Cox said the Travers Stakes on Aug. 28 at Saratoga and the Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 25 at Parx Racing were “logical spots” to consider for Mandaloun. Cox also trains Belmont Stakes winner Essential Quality, who is aimed toward the Jim Dandy and Travers. Mandaloun will be shipped north to train at Saratoga, Cox said. The Haskell is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge race offering automatic fees-paid entry into the Breeders’ Cup Classic. The Classic is contested at 1 1/4 miles, and because Mandaloun loomed but couldn’t quite finish off the Derby, his only start at the distance, there’s no certainty he quite stays that trip. But on Saturday, he was finishing strong at 1 1/8 miles, running out of distance to catch the winner who, in the end, didn’t win. “He’d have looked pretty good at a mile and a quarter today,” Cox said.