Speightster wins Dwyer Stakes; Texas Red second

ELMONT, N.Y. – It isn’t often when the winners and losers of a Grade 2, $500,000 stakes are equally happy. But that seemed to be the case following Saturday’s Dwyer Stakes at Belmont Park, where Speightster remained undefeated by beating Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Texas Red by 2 1/2 lengths.

The win was the third in as many starts for Speightster, a son of Speightstown owned and bred by WinStar Farm and trained by Bill Mott. Under Jose Lezcano, Speightster sat just off the pacesetting Hollywood Angel before taking over turning for home and drawing away convincingly.

Meanwhile, in his first start since Feb. 1, Texas Red rallied six wide in the stretch and finished well to be second, 2 1/2 lengths ahead of Tommy Macho. Smart Transition, Blofeld, Hollywood Angel, and Bridget’s Big Luvy completed the order of finish.

“Very encouraging comeback,” Kent Desormeaux, the rider of Texas Red, said afterward. “This ought to set him up nicely.”

Texas Red’s next objective is the Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy at Saratoga on Aug. 1 and then the Grade 1 Travers on Aug. 29.

Meanwhile, Speightster is likely to remain racing around one turn, targeting the Grade 1 King’s Bishop, a seven-furlong race at Saratoga on the Travers undercard.

Speightster certainly had no problem handling a one-turn mile Saturday, sitting comfortably off longshot Hollywood Angel before being given his cue by Lezcano turning for home.

“I waited as long as I wanted. When I asked him, he really took off,” Lezcano said. “I don’t know how good he is, but every time I ask him for more, he gives it to me.”

Speightster ran a mile in 1:35.13 and returned $6.50 as the second choice.

“I thought he ran against a very nice group of horses today,” Mott said. “The sky’s the limit.”

Mott was especially pleased with how Speightster behaved in the gate and broke compared with his allowance win last time out, when he broke poorly but still won.

“Last time that he ran, he was sitting down in the gate when he broke, so he got off a little bad,” Mott said. “We schooled him in the gate, and he stood up like a gentlemen today, and he broke well.”

Though Mott didn’t discount giving Speightster a chance to go two turns at some point, he said his plan most likely will be to keep him at one turn and just train him up to the King’s Bishop.

Texas Red sat in sixth position early down the backside, was swung wide by Desormeaux around the far turn, and still came with a run, a performance that had trainer Keith Desormeaux smiling.

“I don’t feel too much disappointment, I’ll tell you, because we know what the ultimate goal is,” Keith Desormeaux said. “You could see him finishing strong through the wire. We know he’s going to love the mile and a quarter, so we’re pumped.”