Tenfold gets win in Jim Dandy despite drifting out

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Things are going so well for trainer Steve Asmussen at Saratoga this meet that even when his horses try to lose a race, they can’t.

Despite attempting to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, Tenfold recovered from drifting out in midstretch to surge late and beat Flameaway by three-quarters of a length in Saturday’s Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga.

The win was the third on the card and the sixth of the meet for Asmussen, the previous five coming with 2-year-olds. He also had one winner disqualified from first on Thursday.

Tenfold had come within three-quarters of a length of beating Justify when he ran third to him in the Preakness Stakes. Asmussen said that day the horse changed to his left lead in deep stretch and lugged in a bit.

Saturday, after stalking Flameaway for more than seven furlongs of the 1 1/8-mile Jim Dandy, Tenfold, under Ricardo Santana Jr., was seemingly about to take command.

Approaching the eighth pole, Tenfold drifted out under two cracks of Santana’s left-handed whip. Then, as Santana tried to correct him, Tenfold drifted out several paths again before surging late to get the victory. Santana said that Tenfold spooked from spotting the television screen inside of the turf courses.

“He watched the TV, he got a little scared, he tried to go out,” said Santana, who was aboard all three of Asmussen’s winners on Saturday. “I controlled it and we got lucky and crossed the wire first.”

Tenfold, a son of Curlin owned by Ron Winchell, won for the third time in six starts. He covered the 1 1/8-miles in 1:50.49 and returned $5.50 as the second choice.

“He has lost concentration,” Asmussen said. “Ironically, he’s jumped back to his left lead and laid in in his previous races. For him to do that today is obviously concerning. I’m glad he still won the race, but we all know he can do better and we have work to do.”

Asmussen said the purpose of running in the Jim Dandy was to get to the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers on Aug. 25. Asmussen felt Tenfold could have been a factor in the Belmont, but he was impeded early by Restored Hope and lost early position.

Saturday, Tenfold got the front-running trip Asmussen envisioned in the Belmont.

“This the horse we thought we would have for the Belmont; away from there well and be sharp like he was his first two races,” Asmussen said. “He was away cleanly today, he’s got a big rhythm.”

Asmussen said attending a pace that was a half-mile in 47.16 seconds is easy for Tenfold.

“He’s a horse capable of being fast,” Asmussen said.

Flameaway, who set the pace under Jose Ortiz, held second by a head over Vino Rosso, the 6-5 favorite, who was far back early and never seemed to get into the race until deep stretch when he surged late under John Velazquez.

Todd Pletcher, Vino Rosso’s trainer, believed Vino Rosso was not getting a hold of the track, one rated fast, but one that still had moisture in it.

“I don’t think the horse likes much moisture in the track, he struggled with it for awhile and finally got untracked late,” Pletcher said. “I thought he closed well the last part, it just took him too long to get going.”

Pletcher said Vino Rosso would likely go on to the Travers.