Paret refuses to fold, upsets Tiller Stakes at 38-1.

ELMONT, N.Y. - The Australian-bred Paret nearly stole the Point of Entry Stakes last fall at Belmont Park, setting all the pace only to get passed late by Red Knight, settling for second at odds of 22-1.

Following a training accident last fall, it took nearly eight months for Paret to get back to the races. But Paret proved well worth the wait as on Thursday - at odds of 38-1 - he successfully stole the $80,000 Tiller Stakes by a head over Dot Matrix. It was two lengths back to favored Sadler’s Joy in third.

The win was the first for Paret since he won a minor stakes at Rosehill in Australia in 2018. It was also the first win of 2020 for the Maryland-based trainer Chucky Lawrence.

“We just wanted to get back racing, it’s been a real, real tough go for everybody in the country trying to make payroll, keep your help on,” said Lawrence, adding that owner “Matt [Schera] was loyal enough to keep horses with me.”

Paret was a sprinter when Lawrence got him. Calling on his steeplechase background, Lawrence got Paret to relax and stretch out. Lawrence worked for Burley Cocks, a Hall of Fame trainer, who used to buy sprinters in Chile and turn them into steeplechase horses.

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“He said a horse had to have speed and then teach them how to turn off and that’s what we’ve been really working on with this horse, teaching him how to chill out and turn off,” Lawrence said.

Though Frankie Pennington was named on Paret, he did not make the trip from the Mid-Atlantic region. Jorge Vargas Jr. picked up the mount.

Lawrence said he told Vargas he wanted the horse forwardly placed in the 1 3/8-mile turf race. Around the clubhouse turn, Vargas moved Paret ahead of Noble Indy and was able to maintain his front-running position all the way to the wire, holding off Dot Matrix, under Joel Rosario.

Paret, a 6-year-old gelding by Habour Watch, ran a half-mile in 49.67 seconds, six furlongs in 1:14.68, a mile in 1:38.72, a mile and a quarter in 2:01.9,8 and he completed the 1 3/8 miles in 2:14.05. Paret returned $78.50 to win.

“I said get him in a good position and try to relax him,” Lawrence said. “He seemed to relax the best right where he was. I’m really excited to have a very nice horse. He beat a very good, quality field. It’s a shame the purse was so small for as tough a race as it was.”

Perhaps Paret can replace Glorious Empire, who in 2018 won the Grade 1 Sword Dancer at Saratoga for Lawrence and Schera.

“He’s got a way to go to get there,” Lawrence said, “but maybe he just started to climb the stairs.”

Following Sadler’s Joy in the order of finish where Highland Sky, Current, Standard Deviation, Corelli, Channel Maker, Hayabusa One, Go Poke the Bear, Petit Fils, and Noble Indy. Focus Group scratched.