Whatlovelookslike turns away favored Runaway Rumour in Port Washington Stakes

ELMONT, N.Y. - It was owner Barry Schwartz’s turn to ride the roller-coaster that is owning racehorses.

Monday, Schwartz watched in disbelief as Cold Hard Cash suffered cardiovascular collapse and died while galloping out after finishing last in the $125,000 Hudson Valley Stakes at Belmont Park.

Tuesday, Schwartz watched as Whatlovelookslike battled back after briefly ceding the lead to favored Runaway Rumour in midstretch and went on to win the $116,250 Port Washington Stakes by 1 3/4 lengths at Belmont.

Longshot Golden Rocket finished second by 1 1/2 lengths over Runaway Rumour. Freddymo Factor finished last. Sanura was scratched after she was found to be stiff behind Tuesday morning, according to Robin Smullen, assistant to trainer Barclay Tagg.

Schwartz, the former CEO of Calvin Klein, said he has about 35 horses in training and that Cold Hard Cash “without a doubt, he was my favorite horse and I was expecting the biggest season out of him,” Schwartz said. “We gave him the winter off, we did everything right by him and he has a heart attack and drops dead.”

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Then, Schwartz’s next starter, Whatlovelookslike, makes a successful stakes debut, coming back under Flavien Prat after Runaway Rumour put her head in front.

“That’s the game right? Crazy game,” said Schwartz, adding that Whatlovelookslike’s trainer Todd Pletcher “always liked this horse. He said she will continue to get better as she gets older and as they go further. That’s something nice to hear when you hear it from someone like Todd.”

The Port Washington lost its primary speed when Sanura scratched. Flavien Prat put Whatlovelookslike on the lead but was soon joined by a rank Freddymo Factor.

Those two were heads apart thought a half-mile in 50.57 seconds. At the five-sixteenths pole, Freddymo Factor retreated but Runaway Rumour, under Manny Franco, came to the outside of Whatlovelookslike. The two ran together until midstretch when Prat got to riding and Whatlovelookslike edged clear.

“When you ask her to make her move it usually takes her a little while to get going and I felt like if I could engage her with Manny’s filly she could give me an extra gear when she swapped leads, and she did,” Prat said.

Whatlovelookslike was the first of Prat's five winners on the holiday card.

Whatlovelookslike, who won for the fourth time from 10 starts, became the third stakes winner thrown by the mare Jonata, joining Stonewall Star and La Fuerza.

Whatlovelookslike, a 4-year-old daughter of English Channel, covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.37 and returned $6.10. The race was run over yielding ground, made so by heavy rains that fell in the hour leading up to post time.

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