Therapist ($26.60) cashes upset in United Nations
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OCEANPORT, NJ — With $993,815 in career earnings going into Saturday’s Grade 1 United Nations Stakes at Monmouth Park, 8-year-old Therapist didn’t need to win to become racing’s newest millionaire.
He left no doubt, however, with a rallying 1 1/2-length victory over favored Catnip in the $500,000 turf event for 3-year-olds and upward at 1 1/2 miles.
Trained by Michael Maker for Michael Dubb, Therapist was taken off the inside to settle in midpack as 58-1 longshot So High cleared off to a lonely lead entering the first of three turns.
So High continued in sole command through fractions of 24.76, 49.32, and 1:14.26 seconds over the firm turf course with favored Catnip saving ground five lengths behind the leader.
So High had enough after a one-mile clocking in 1:39.03 seconds and was swamped by a phalanx of stalkers and closers with Catnip the first to attack.
Catnip took a brief lead turning into the Monmouth stretch, but jockey Javier Castellano had Therapist in top gear, and they swept outside to challenge the chalk at the eighth pole.
Therapist stayed better than Catnip and returned $26.60 as the fifth betting favorite, turning in a winning time of 2:14.50 and getting a 100 Beyer Speed Figure.
Red Knight finished three-quarters of a length behind Catnip. Then came Limited Liability, Planetario, Foreign Relations, So High, Yamato, and Kygo. Oceans Map scratched.
Castellano said that his plan was to get off the rail at some point. “I like to save a little bit of ground in the first turn and see how he went. Trust me, you don’t want to lose a lot of ground every step of the I way. At some point, I took him outside and let him roll. Turning for home, I knew I was going to win the race. He’s a cool horse."
An $8,000 yearling buyback, 8-year-old Therapist began his career in 2017 for breeder Oak Bluff Stable and trainer Christophe Clement. Therapist won at least one stakes race each year between 2017 and 2020 at distances ranging between seven furlongs and one mile.
Stakes-placed in 2021, Therapist was claimed for $80,000 by trainer George Weaver out of a sixth-place finisher during the Belmont at Aqueduct meet last fall. Therapist was taken three starts later for $25,000 from a winning effort at Gulfstream.
Maker claimed Therapist for $50,000 out of his first start this year, a third-place effort at Gulfstream, and has won three of five starts with the gelding including Gulfstream’s Grade 2 Pan American at 1 1/2 miles April 1.
“He was a deep closer,” Maker said by telephone when asked if he claimed Therapist with the idea of stretching him out in distance. “He always stayed relaxed in his races, so we had nothing to lose, and we figured we’d try, and it paid off.”
A New York-bred by Freud, Therapist has captured 13 of 42 races for earnings of $1,353,815. Maker mentioned Saratoga’s Grade 1, $750,000 Sword Dancer Aug. 26 and the Grade 2 $1.7M Kentucky Downs Turf Cup Sept. 9 as potential goals for Therapist.
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