SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Trainer Shug McGaughey trained the great Lure to win 14 races, including the 1993 Breeders’ Cup Mile. So it meant a little extra to the Hall of Fame horsemen after his Smokin’ T dug in gamely through the final furlong to register a hard-fought and well-deserved victory over Dakota Gold and Portfolio Company in the $135,000 Lure Stakes Saturday at Saratoga. “It’s always a little more fun to win a stakes on a big day like Whitney day,” McGaughey said after the race. “And it was particularly gratifying to win this race, since Lure was such a very special horse. I loved training him.” Smokin’ T has a long ways to go to emulate Lure’s success, but he’s certainly been improving since returning to the races off a near-eight-month layoff earlier this winter at Gulfstream Park. The son of War Front has shown steady improvement all season while entering the 1 1/16-mile Lure off his best effort yet, a second-place finish behind Big Everest in the Cliff Hanger Stakes at Monmouth Park on May 27. :: DRF's 2023 Saratoga headquarters: Previews, past performances, picks, recaps, news, and more. With John Velazquez back aboard, Smokin’ T settled within easy striking distance about four lengths off the lead of longshot Mid Day Image. Smokin’ T angled five wide with his bid into the stretch, stuck his head in front three-sixteenths from the wire, then dug in under strong handling by Velazquez to turn back menacing bids from Dakota Gold to his outside and Portfolio Company nearest the rail. He prevailed by a neck over the former, with the 2-1 favorite Portfolio Company just a nose farther back in third. Dakota Gold came widest with his rally into the stretch, joined the winner nearing the furlong marker, appeared to have dead aim on that one at that juncture but was unable to get by during the furious drive to the wire. Portfolio Company slipped inside the top pair nearing midstretch but also came up just short at the end. The win was the fourth in 15 starts for Smokin’ T, who is owned by DATTT Stable. He completed the distance over a yielding course in 143.64 seconds (96 Beyer Speed Figure) and returned $13.80.  “It was a game effort, that’s for sure,” McGaughey acknowledged. “He was sitting perfect the whole way behind three longshots. I kept looking back to see where Chad [Brown] and Danny’s [Gargan] horses were. He made his room and I have to tip my hat to Johnny. He rode a really, really strong race. When the other horses came to him, he still had some horse and still had some muscle left.” McGaughey said he will nominate Smokin’ T to the $150,000 Bernard Baruch here September 4. “This race is going to help him if it doesn’t take too much out of him,” said McGaughey. “We could always go to Kentucky Downs, but I’d like to see him bounce back so I can run him here.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.