Therapist dominates Spectacular Bid Stakes

Therapist was not the speediest runner in Sunday’s $100,000 Spectacular Bid Stakes for New York-sired 3-year-olds at Belmont Park, though there was no doubt he was the classiest.

Dropped from graded stakes company, he swallowed up leader Belleville Spring in early stretch and maintained a clear advantage down the lane to win by 2 lengths over Collective Effort, recording the fourth stakes win of his seven-race career. He raced seven furlongs on a firm Widener turf course in 1:21.07.

Accustomed to racing longer distances since last fall, Therapist was farther off the pace than he had been in recent starts, 6 1/2 lengths behind the leader, though some of that was not his doing. Rather it was the work of Belleville Spring, who took off and established blazing fractions of 22 and 44.34 seconds, leaving the entire field playing catch-up.

Catch up they did, with Therapist leading the way. Asked to go by jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. midway on the turn, he took command with an eighth of a mile remaining, and no one got close to him thereafter. He returned $3.10 as the overwhelming favorite.

“He's a lovely horse with a great turn of foot,” said Christophe Clement, who trains him for Oak Bluff Stables.

Collective Effort managed to rally to be 2 1/4 lengths clear of Spectacular Kid in third, while Belleville Spring retreated to be eighth of 10.

A couple races earlier, Kreesie stormed down the center of the Widener turf course to win the $100,000 Cupecoy's Joy for New York sired 3-year-old fillies, winning by a half-length over Goodbye Brockley.

Well handled by Jose Ortiz, who kept her tucked behind horses in the rear of the pack before angling her out at the top of the lane, she flew home once shown daylight. She caught favored Mentality, the early leader in the stretch run, in the final 50 yards of the race, outkicking Goodbye Brockley in the process. She finished seven furlongs in 1:21.09, just .02 off the time posted by Therapist in the male division.

Mentality, who had beaten Kreesie an allowance last month at Belmont, grew fatigued in the stretch after chasing longshot Baby Boss through lively splits of 22.20 and 44.74 seconds. She weakened to third, beaten a length by the winner.

A daughter of Cosmonaut trained by David Donk for owners Gerald and Susan Kresa, Kreesie recorded her first stakes victory in taking Cupecoy's Joy and is now 2 for 3 as a 3-year-old. She paid $15.60.

“Some horses need some races to get it together,” Ortiz said. “I think she's put it together now and I think she'll keep improving."