T Kraft holds off a late charge from Crazy Mason to take Vosburgh
:quality(75))
T Kraft, brave on the front end under Junior Alvarado, held off a late-flying Crazy Mason by a nose to win the Grade 3 Vosburgh Stakes on Thursday at Belmont Park. After coming up just short in the Grade 1 Forego in August, trainer Bill Mott didn’t need to wait much longer for the colt’s first graded stakes victory.
“He ran well and got away good and Junior gave him a good ride,” Mott said, per the New York Racing Association. “The horse we thought was the speed horse [Contrary Thinking] got away poorly and Junior knew what to do after that.”
In the Forego, T Kraft, Crazy Mason, and Senior Officer finished within a head of one another, with T Kraft and Senior Officer dead-heating for second. Those three were separated by 1 1/2 lengths in a strong edition of the Vosburgh, with T Kraft holding out over his closing rivals.
With his victory, T Kraft earned a fees-paid berth into the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint at Keeneland on Oct. 31, a race Mott is considering.
“If he’s doing good, the Breeders’ Cup is paying, so I’m sure we’ll have to get a hotel room and a flight to Lexington and root for T Kraft,” Mott said. “He’s improving every race − it comes up quick and six [furlongs] is a little sharp, but he certainly belongs. He showed that today.”
There wasn’t a point in the seven-furlong sprint in which and Alvarado wasn’t pressured aboard the front-running winner. The 35-1 longshot El Grando O pushed the 5-1 pacesetter through an opening quarter-mile in 23.26 seconds and half-mile in 46.16. T Kraft turned him away to open up by 1 1/2 lengths at the top of the stretch, only for a slew of late runners to mount bids from behind.
Senior Officer, the 9-5 favorite trained Brad Cox, and Buttah both stalked early and were in striking position turning for home, but T Kraft was resolute and turned them away. Just as Alvarado seemed safe aboard the winner, Crazy Mason and Manny Franco came calling with a wild rush from eighth.
Running near the back in the field of nine on the backstretch, Crazy Mason advanced on far turn and swung wide into the stretch. He charged into contention in a hurry while going long on his inside lead. Franco eventually got him to switch and he rallied with even more near the wire.
T Kraft had little to do but get to the wire, spent but holding gamely. It was Crazy Mason’s race to win or lose in the final furlong, but despite a final rush, he simply ran out of room. T Kraft prevailed in a desperate photo, completing the seven-furlong distance in 1:22.78. He paid $13.88 to win.
“By a whisker, that was close, I didn’t know if I got it or not,” Alvarado said. “[Crazy Mason] came running very strong at the end, but my horse fought for me there. I saw the speed didn’t go, so I let my horse kind of take the lead. I knew he likes to fight.”
Senior Officer was unable to chase down the winner but ran on to secure third for Cox, finishing 1 1/2 lengths behind the top pair and three-quarters of a length clear of Buttah.
T Kraft, the runner-up in the Forego and fourth-place finisher in the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt, earned his last victory in an Aqueduct allowance in May. He is now a two-time stakes winner, having won the $125,000 Jimmy Winkfield in March 2025.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.