Sir Anthony ($53.80) upsets Audible in Harlan's Holiday

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Audible’s path to the $9 million Pegasus World Cup hit a soggy bump in the road Saturday at Gulfstream Park when the prohibitive favorite finished second, a half-length behind the rail-skimming, 25-1 Sir Anthony in the Grade 3 Harlan’s Holiday.

A steady rain shower that began about 30 minutes before post time for the Harlan’s Holiday left the racetrack sealed and sloppy for the race.

Sir Anthony was taken back to last by jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. for the opening six furlongs of the 1 1/16-mile race. He advanced rapidly along the rail midway on the second turn, joined the leaders into the stretch, then outfinished the 1-9 Audible in the final sixteenth.

Audible broke a step slow and had only Sir Anthony beat in the run down the backstretch. The 2018 Florida Derby winner swung five wide while rallying into the stretch, appeared to stick his head in front briefly near the furlong grounds, but could not match strides with the winner at the end. Apostle, who held a slim advantage leaving the final turn, succumbed gradually to finish another length farther back in third.

Sir Anthony, a 3-year-old homebred son of Mineshaft, shipped locally earlier this month after being based in his native Illinois throughout the season. Trained by Anthony Mitchell for owner-breeder Richard Otto, Sir Anthony came into the race sporting a three-race win streak that included a one-mile stakes restricted to 3-year-olds this summer at Arlington Park.

Sir Anthony completed the distance in 1:45.14 and paid $53.80.

“He’s been a promising young colt who took a while to figure it out,” Mitchell said. “But now that he’s figured it out, who knows where we go from here. I told Brian (Hernandez) to believe in this horse. I told him that he has two gears: ‘One will take you there and one will put you in front if we’re good enough’.”

Trainer Todd Pletcher said jockey Javier Castellano told him Audible struggled with the wet track from the outset.

“This wasn’t the same kind of sloppy tracks he’s run on in the past,” a disappointed Pletcher said after the race. “It looked like it was kind of uneven a bit, wetter in some spots than others, and it looked like he was kind of fighting it the whole way. He always seemed to be working harder than he should have."

Pletcher said Audible’s status for the Pegasus World Cup was uncertain at this time.

“The horse trained extremely well for the race,” Pletcher said. “Obviously the racetrack was an X factor today. I’m not down on the horse. We’ll see how he comes out of the race, talk it over with the owners, and make a decision after that.”