March rallies up the rail to win Woody Stephens

ELMONT, N.Y. – It took a while for trainer Chad Brown to figure out that March was more effective as a come-from-behind sprinter than around two turns, a revelation that has resulted in two consecutive graded stakes wins, the latest a game nose decision over hard-luck runner-up Cinco Charlie in Saturday’s $500,000 Woody Stephens at Belmont Park.

March rallied up the rail under a perfectly judged ride by Irad Ortiz Jr. to win a nose bob over Cinco Charlie. Competitive Edge, who entered the Woody Stephens unbeaten and virtually unchallenged in four starts, brushed with the winner briefly after the start, raced forwardly placed once recovering, but was done before five furlongs, finishing last as the 2-5 favorite in the field of six 3-year-olds.

March was allowed to rate several lengths off the early pace of Ready for Rye while saving ground, found ample room along the rail to launch his bid leaving the turn, joined Cinco Charlie inside the sixteenth pole, and proved narrowly best. Cinco Charlie was reined in after an alert beginning to stalk the pace of Ready for Rye, edged clear in early stretch, fought on bravely when engaged by the winner, and just missed despite jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. losing his stick in late stretch.

March, a son of Blame owned by Robert LaPenta, completed seven furlongs in 1:21.37 and paid $22.80.

“The horse had been training really well, we figured a few things out about him, obviously the distance, he runs well fresh, and Irad rode a perfect race,” said Brown. “He came off a layoff to win the Bay Shore, so we figured let’s just give him another layoff into a big race. When it came up tough, we were just hoping to grab a piece of it, but as races often do on big racing days, things changed when they broke, we were in a great spot, and our horse showed up.”

Brown said the King’s Bishop this summer at Saratoga is the next main goal for March.

“Obviously, when you have a seven-furlong, 3-year-old dirt horse, you’re looking at the King’s Bishop,” said Brown. “What happens between now and then, we’ll have to talk about it.”

Trainer Todd Pletcher said Competitive Edge “didn’t seem to fire, and I have no good explanation for it.”