Legendary sews up Knickerbocker win
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Photo:
NYRA/Joe Labozzetta
Allowed to relax early, Legendary
kept the early leaders within view while letting them feel his presence. Once
given his signal to go, the gelding unleashed a strong stretch rally that saw him
coast to a 1 ¼-length victory over a yielding course at Belmont Park in the Grade 3 Knickerbocker Stakes.
Under pilot Sheldon Russell, Legendary broke alertly and
settled into mid-pack. Plainview went out to set the early pace. Shadowed by
Winning Cause, Plainview set comfortable fractions of :23.90 for the opening
quarter, :49.07 for the half and 1:14.30 for the first three-quarters.
Legendary followed in third, and Speaking of Which and Mshawish took up early
spots in fourth and fifth respectively while late-running Up With the Birds trailed the field.
Given his cue in the far turn, Legendary drew on even terms
with Plainview before grabbing the lead at the top of the stretch. From there,
the gelding built a 4 length lead but saw that lead diminished by Up With the
Birds’s furious stretch drive. Though last throughout most of the race, Up With
the Birds made up a ton of ground to get up for second. Legendary completed the
1 1/8 miles in 1:51.65.
Mshawish also
made up ground to finish a clear third. Plainview faded to fourth, and Speaking
of Which and Winning Cause completed the order of finish. Easter Gift, a
main-track-only entrant, Tricky Hat and Za Approval were all scratched due to
the surface.
“It was a perfect set up,” said winning jockey Russell. “I
know the inside horses had a little bit of speed; I was happy that he broke
well and put me in a great spot with such a short run into the first turn.
After then, well, he’s so good. As long as he’s on the outside, he comes home
real good. Being from England, he’d run on softer courses, so I knew today wasn’t
going to be a problem for him.”
Off 4-1 odds, Legendary paid $10.20/$4.80/$2.90. Up With the
Birds, the 5-2 favorite, returned $3.60/$2.70 for his second place finish and
Mshawish returned $2.90 for the show off 7-2 odds. The $2 exacta paid $37.60,
the $2 trifecta returned $117.00 and the $2 superfecta was worth $443.50.
By Exceed and Excel and out of the Polar Falcon mare Red
Carnation, Legendary has now won six races in 19 career starts for total purse
earnings of $293,219. The Knickerbocker was the gelding’s first graded stakes
score. It was also trainer Niall Saville’s first graded win. Saville is a
former steeplechase jockey who began training on his own in 2008. Owned by
Walter R. Swinburn, Legendary was consigned to the Tattersalls October 2010
Yearling Sale by breeder Genesis Green Stud Ltd. but did not meet his reserve.
“This is my first graded stakes; this horse won my first
stake [the Racing Association Stakes at Parx] a month ago,” Saville said
excitedly. “I’m very, very pleased. I was a little nervous with the long
stretch here, but they weren’t catching him.”
No immediate plans have been made for Legendary’s next
start.
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