What a Pleasure: Saint Augustus upsets

Saint Augustus gave trainer Todd Pletcher yet another stakes victory during his record-setting 2005 season when he rallied from off a hotly contested pace to post a 2 1/2-length victory over Big Lover in the $100,000 What a Pleasure Stakes. Flanders Fields, the surprising 7-5 favorite in the field of seven 2-year-olds, finished fourth.

Saint Augustus, a son of Saint Ballado owned by the Dogwood Stable, was reserved off the early pace, readily circled the leaders into the stretch, drew off, then maintained a safe advantage over Big Lover. Big Lover gained a brief advantage into the stretch but proved no match for the winner. Rehoboth rallied mildly to finish third.

Flanders Fields made a mild run outside rivals to reach contention entering the backstretch but was never a serious factor thereafter. Electrify and Changing Fields weakened badly after contesting the early pace and finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

Saint Augustus ($24) ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:47.94.

"This win came at a wonderful time for us," said Dogwood president Cot Campbell. "We have the beginnings of Derby fever now. In his earlier races he threatened to be a good horse. Today we saw the real deal."