Messi rebounds to score in Knickerbocker

Rebounding nicely from a disappointing run in the Sword Dancer, Messi closed strongly on the outside to catch the 34-1 shot Cage Fighter in the last strides Saturday in the Grade 3, $200,000 Knickerbocker Stakes at Belmont Park.

Cage Fighter was coming off a lifetime-best effort in winning the PTHA President’s Cup at Parx Racing and had little trouble making the lead from the far outside in a field of nine.

Able to set moderate fractions of 25.38 seconds, 50.38, and 1:14.06 beneath Joshua Navarro, Cage Fighter settled into the stretch on a clear lead and held it to the final yards before Messi collared him at the wire under a perfectly timed ride from John Velazquez. Mr Speaker finished third, followed by last year’s Knickerbocker winner Legendary in fourth.

“When he ran for the first time at Belmont, he was last at the quarter pole, and he came running,” said Velazquez. “Going a little shorter today, I was worried about it, but they were going so slow, and he was pulling me all the way to the half-mile pole. I got stopped at the half-mile pole, and I thought it would be hard not to let him go and catch up. It took him a little bit to get going, but once he switched [leads] down the lane, I thought he was going to get there. It was little by little, but he had a nice kick coming home.”

The German-bred Messi ($10.20) now has won 3 of 4 starts since being imported to the U.S. and given over to trainer Graham Motion, who won the 2003 Knickerbocker with Better Talk Now, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Turf the following year.