T Kraft squeezes through horses, survives inquiry to take Jimmy Winkfield
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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – T Kraft muscled his way through a narrow opening between horses in midstretch under Jose Lezcano and outfinished Maryland shipper Saxton to win Saturday’s $125,000 Jimmy Winkfield Stakes for 3-year-olds by a neck at Aqueduct.
It was 2 3/4 lengths back to the pacesetting filly Paula’s a Star, who held third by a neck over Ican. Arcadian and Do It for Michael completed the order of finish.
T Kraft had to withstand a stewards’ inquiry into the stretch run of the race as there was some bumping between T Kraft and Saxton, but the stewards deemed it did not affect the outcome of the race and let the result stand.
T Kraft, a son of Connect owned by Lee Einsidler and trained by Bill Mott, won his third consecutive race after losing his first five.
Lezcano had T Kraft just behind the pace, which was established by Paula’s a Star, the lone filly in the race, and pressed by Do It for Michael. Saxton, under Katie Davis, was outside of T Kraft and inside of Ican as there were four across the track approaching the top of the stretch.
Paula’s a Star, under Maddy Olver, started to edge away but Lezcano got T Kraft off the rail and guided her in between Paula’s a Star and Saxton. While Saxton kept fighting down to the wire, T Kraft was able to prevail narrowly at the wire.
“The last furlong, when I go through, my horse go halfway in after that he was kind of intimidated because the other horse was putting on the pressure, that’s why I kept after him,” Lezcano said.
Of the bumping, Lezcano said, “She’s holding me in I can’t do anything else. I’m protecting my horse, protecting myself. I’m halfway in, what am I going to do let them take me out?’ “
Davis said she would have claimed foul had the outrider not told her that the stewards had already posted the inquiry sign.
“I tried to keep a straight course, he’s the horse to beat and that was my path,” Davis said. “He made his way out and it kind of cost us. We bumped a couple of times.”
T Kraft covered the six furlongs in 1:12.32 and returned $7.20 as the favorite.
Saxton, as well as Do It for Michael, both shipped in from Laurel early Saturday morning. They were allowed to run at Aqueduct despite the fact a barn at Laurel was placed under quarantine Saturday morning due to a suspected case of equine herpesvirus. Other jurisdictions such as Parx in Pennsylvania, and Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs in Florida, put a temporary ban on Laurel shippers. NYRA did not.
“Based on the circumstances of the case at Laurel Park, and after dialogue with the New York Department of Agriculture and guidance from the New York State Gaming Commission, we are not currently restricting travel in or out of NYRA facilities,” Dr. Sarah Hinchliffe, the veterinary department director for NYRA said in a statement.
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