Drefong dismantles Forego field with lone speed
In a near copy of his King’s Bishop, now known as the H. Allen Jerkens, win last year, Drefong broke sharply and made every pole a winning one en route to an easy 4 length win in the Grade 1 Forego Stakes on the Travers undercard at Saratoga.
Exiting the far outside post, Drefong and Mike Smith went right for the lead. Though closely shadowed by first Tommy Macho then Tale of S’avall, Drefong never looked threatened. He easily posted splits of :22.89 and :45.58.
Out of the far turn, Smith gave last year’s champion sprinter his cue, and if it wasn’t already over, it was definitely over from there.
With the win cinched, it was only a matter of who would pick up the minor checks. From the back of the field, Awesome Slew and Tom’s Ready had on their running shoes. Though there was no getting to Drefong, there was plenty to be gained in the stretch otherwise.
Though both started out at the back of the field, Awesome Slew got the jump on Tom’s Ready and was weaving through traffic in the final turn. Straightening up for the stretch drive, Awesome Slew went up the rail while Tom’s Ready took the overland route. At the wire, Awesome Slew was a clear second while Tom’s Ready just nipped the duo of Divining Rod and Tale of S’avall, fourth and fifth respectively, to steal third.
The winning time was 1:21.12.
Mind Your Biscuits never fired and finished sixth. Tommy Macho, Stallwalkin’ Dude, Very Very Stella, and Ross completed the order of finish.
"I was hoping that he would run like he did last year here," said winning rider Mike Smith. "He really likes that summer breeze here. I knew that he was liking it today and I was just thinking positive. I think he ran even better than last year."
"[I had a] perfect trip," runner-up jockey John Velazquez stated about his and Awesome Slew's run. "I thought they'd probably show up with a little more speed and obviously the horse of the lead [Drefong] got away. He had enough of a lead and when he asked him down the lane he had something left. My horse ran really well down the lane. My horse doesn't have speed so that wasn't even my choice, that's the way he runs. He runs off the pace and he started to run again, got on the inside, and got a good trip. Good second."
Dallas Stewart, who saddled Tom's Ready to a third place finish, stated afterwards, "We like to win but he ran a big race and came running. He finished great and he's going to win a big one, it's just a matter of time."
Despite a short career, Drefong has been nothing but impressive. Last year, he turned his King’s Bishop win into a Breeders’ Cup Sprint victory and an Eclipse Award for Champion Male Sprinter. He’s trained by Bob Baffert and owned by Baoma Corporation for whom he’s compiled an 8: 6-0-0 career record for earnings of $1,563,385.
"We put a lot of time into that horse," said winning trainer Bob Baffert. "We gave him a lot of time off [almost nine months] and brought him back. It was a lot of patience there. To bring him back to the Breeders' Cup we wanted to get two good runs in him. Sometimes things work out for the best. This was pretty exciting. He's a beautiful horse."
As for what's next for Drefong, Baffert stated, "I'll probably get him home and maybe run him at Santa Anita. We'll bring him back home and play it by ear."