Aqueduct: 42-1 Forewarned shocks Queens County

Forewarned, owned and trained by Uriah St. Lewis, provided a 42-1 upset to make the grade in Sunday’s $125,000 Queens County Stakes, a nine-furlong test for 3-year-olds and up at Aqueduct.

Patiently handled by Dexter Haddock, the 6-year-old son of Flat Out settled in seventh position as Empty Tomb and Backsideofthemoon battled for the lead through an opening quarter-mile in 23.46 seconds.

Empty Tomb, with Eric Cancel up, asserted command down the backstretch with Backsideofthemoon, piloted by Jose Lezcano, tracking in second position to the inside of Bal Harbour as the half-mile ticked by in 48.37 seconds.

Forewarned advanced with purpose approaching the final turn and was traveling well to the outside of Olliemyboy with little separation between the frontrunning trio of Backsideofthemoon, Empty Tomb and Bal Harbour.

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Haddock asked Forewarned for more out of the turn and the longshot responded by overtaking a tiring Bal Harbour before surging past the stubborn Empty Tomb and Backsideofthemoon to secure a 1 1/4-length win in a final time of 1:51.90.

Empty Tomb completed the exacta by a head over Backsideofthemoon with Olliemyboy, who stumbled at the start, rounding out the superfecta.

The durable Forewarned, who now sports a record of 45: 10-7-4, was purchased for $40,000 by St. Lewis’ Trin-Brook Stable in December 2018 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Mixed Sale.

The hard-knocking horse has raced 13 times this campaign with his lone win coming in the 10-furlong Best of Ohio Endurance, a race he was won the last three years.

“He was working well into this race. The thing with him is he wants longer distances,” St. Lewis said. “The longer the better and that’s what we were trying to do.”

The victory marked the second career stakes victory for Haddock, who said Forewarned benefited from the pace battle.

“I saw a couple of horses fighting up front around the first turn,” Haddock said. “I knew I had a lot of horse when I made my move and he came with a big run at the end. He was training so well in the morning, and he felt good today.”

Bal Harbour, Mystic Night, Bourbonic, You’re to Blame and Shooger Ray Too rounded out the order of finish.

Bred in Ohio by Preston Stables, Forewarned banked $68,750 in victory. He paid $86 for a $2 win ticket.

Chateau outsprints rivals in Gravesend

Michael Dubb’s Chateau led at every point of call as the mutuel favorite in Sunday’s $100,000 Gravesend Stakes, a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up over the fast main track at Aqueduct.

Chateau, ridden from the outermost post 5 by Kendrick Carmouche, broke the sharpest in the compact field and was hurried to the lead while Majestic Dunhill, who hopped in the air from post 2, lost ground early. Post-time second choice Jaxon Traveler was settled to the inside of Chateau by jockey Jose Lezcano as Drafted tracked in third.

Racing down the backstretch, Lezcano angled Jaxon Traveler to the outside of Chateau and came within a length of the lead, the pair spotting the rest of the field 6 1/2 lengths through an opening quarter mile in 23.30 seconds. Jaxon Traveler inched closer rounding the turn as Carmouche got to work on Chateau, traveling four-wide from the rail and running down the center of the racetrack.

Chateau was briefly threatened by Jaxon Traveler at the top of the stretch, but began to kick clear at the sixteenth pole, keeping to task with a single right-handed tap of the crop from Carmouche to win the Gravesend by 3 1/2 lengths in a final time of 1:11.26.

Jaxon Traveler stayed on well to hold off a late charge to his outside from Drafted and preserved place honors by a three-quarters of a length. Majestic Dunhill rounded out the superfecta with Wendell Fong completing the order of finish. Bold Ruler (G3) winner Wondrwherecraigis was scratched.

Carmouche said Chateau was ready for the showdown with Jaxon Traveler.

“When the track is favoring his type of go, he loves it,” said Carmouche. “Today, I just knew I had to break, stay outside and let him run his race. He dragged me around there. He kept fighting. Every time he heard the other horse coming, he wanted a little bit more.”

Lezcano praised Jaxon Traveler for his game runner-up effort.

“My horse broke pretty well,” Lezcano said. “I think he gave me a good race. He faced some good horses today and he gave me his best. The other horse was just too fast.”

Chateau’s trainer, Rob Atras, said he was glad to see the 6-year-old gelding back in the winner’s circle.

“I think the scratch (of Wondrwherecraigis) was a factor, but I’m very happy with the way Chateau ran,” Atras said. “He showed his speed and finished up really nice today.”

Chateau made his eighth start of the year in the Gravesend off a third-place effort in the Fall Highweight (G3) 3 1/2 lengths behind Hopeful Treasure on Nov. 28. Atras said Chateau’s Gravesend effort showed improvement from his prior start.

“I think he moved forward,” said Atras. “It was a bit of a layoff and he had to use himself quite a bit at the start of the race and that probably hindered him coming home. But the race definitely helped him and that showed today.”

Carmouche first got a leg up on Chateau when he rode him to a third-place finish in an optional claimer last November. With Carmouche in the irons for six of Chateau’s next eight starts, the pair won two races together, including a graded-stakes victory in the Tom Fool (G3) at Aqueduct in March.

“He just really figured him out quick when he got on him,” said Atras. “He rode him great again today. He got to the lead and he just really knows the horse. He knows where to put him in the race and when to let him loose.”

The consistent son of Flat Out has won or been on the board in 28 of 39 career starts, including on-the-board efforts in this year’s Runhappy (G3) at Belmont Park and the Lite the Fuse at Pimlico en route to his Gravesend score.

Bred in Kentucky by Preston Stables, Chateau improved his record to 39: 8-10-10 with his Gravesend win, earning $55,000 in victory to increase his total career purse earnings to $615,019. A $2 win bet on Chateau returned $5.20.