Strong rally propels Therapist to victory in Elusive Quality Stakes

Despite a less than ideal trip, Therapist remained perfect at Belmont Park, rallying stoutly inside the final furlong under Eric Cancel to run down Emmaus and win Saturday’s $125,000 Elusive Quality Stakes by a neck. It was 1 1/2 lengths back to favored Big Handsome in third.

The win was the seventh from 11 starts and the sixth stakes victory for Therapist, a 4-year-old New York-bred gelding by Freud owned and bred by Richard Leahy’s Oak Bluff Stables and trained by Christophe Clement. It was his fourth win in as many starts over the Belmont turf going back to his career debut here in the fall of 2017.

Cancel was aboard Therapist that day, rallying him eight wide in the stretch. Saturday, Cancel had Therapist along the inside and last of six, five lengths behind Fixed Point, who ran an opening half-mile in 47.60 seconds over a course labeled yielding, but that seemed closer to good.

Therapist made an inside move around the far turn to gain contention, following Emmaus, who was making his U.S. debut for trainer and part-owner Conor Murphy. Emmaus got through to gain a short lead in the stretch but was soon confronted by Big Handsome, the favorite.

Turning for home, Cancel and Therapist got stopped briefly behind Fixed Point. At the eighth pole, while Emmaus was fending off Big Handsome, Cancel got Therapist three wide in the clear and he unleashed a powerful late run to just get up.

“He does have a very good turn of foot,” Clement said.

Clement said he was surprised to see Cancel try and come up the inside because “the only instructions were to be outside,” Clement said. “He said he was going so well on the inside.”

Cancel said he was following Jose Ortiz on Emmaus because he felt that “He was the horse that I needed to beat. Once he found the hole by the quarter pole, I just followed him. From there on, my horse did the job.”

Therapist covered the seven furlongs in 1:24.75 and returned $7.70 as the third betting choice.

Following Big Handsome in the order of finish were Abiding Star, V. I. P. Code and Fixed Point. Krampus, the 2-1 morning-line favorite, was scratched.

Therapist was making his first start as a gelding. Clement said he felt Therapist was “a touch difficult mentally” and that he could accomplish more by gelding him.

So far, he’s right.

Therapist will most likely make his next start in the $125,000 Kingston Stakes going a mile at Belmont on May 27.