Orientate wins Alfred G. Vanderbilt

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - In what amounted to a $120,000 paid public workout, 2-5 favorite Orientate ($2.90) rolled to a front-running, two-length victory in Sunday's Grade 2, $200,000 at Saratoga.

Say Florida Sandy, the all-time richest New York-bred, chased Orientate around the track and finished second, three lengths ahead of longshot Multiple Choice. Late Carson, Beau's Town and Texas Glitter completed the order of finish.

It was the third graded-stakes victory in six weeks for Orientate and fourth this year. A 4-year-old son of Mt. Livermore, Orientate improved his record to 8 for 17 and pushed his career earnings to $974,150 for Bob and Beverly Lewis.

The scratches of Echo Eddie and Run Kush Run took some of the speed out of the race, but it probably wouldn't have mattered. Orientate jumped out of the starting gate on top and cruised around the track through fractions of 22.85 seconds, 45.80, 57.32 and stopped the teletimer in 1:09.72 for six furlongs. He was simply hand-ridden by jockey Jerry Bailey.

``To me it was over the second jump,' Bailey said. ``He had out-broken the field so well and placed himself in front and put his ears up, relaxed and I knew he was going to run when they came to him and that's the way he won it.'

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas said the easy race was the perfect scenario for Orientate, whom he plans to run back in the Grade 1 Forego Handicap here on Sept. 1.

``That was almost a Hollywood script for me,' said Lukas, who won his third running of this race that was known as the A Phenomenon prior to 2000. ``I didn't want a tough one; we wanted to get a good one because we're going to come back in a few weeks.'