Patternrecognition scores Cigar Mile upset; Mendelssohn fourth
Patternrecognition, who won the Kelso Handicap (G2) last time in his first stakes start, did one better Saturday in a big way at Aqueduct.
The Chad Brown-trained son of Adios Charlie scored a front-running victory in the Grade 1, $750,000 Cigar Mile, taking advantage as 8-5 favorite Mendelssohn never made the lead in another return to the United States.
Under jockey Jose Ortiz, Patternrecognition established a promising position at the break, cutting over toward the rail from the outside post in a field of eight, and from there he just kept going to a final time of 1:34.98 for the one-turn event.
“He’s had several interruptions in his career due to injuries, and I just want to thank the owners, Seth Klaraman and Bill Lawrence, for always having the patience to always do the right thing by him — give him a chance to get healthy," Brown said. "My staff always did a really good job of identifying as a team when he needed some time and then bringing him back. We spent a lot of time with this horse just to try and keep him healthy.
"We always knew he had a bunch of ability, and today it’s just a great moment for this horse to show it at the Grade 1 level.”
In the stretch, True Timber made his run in the middle of the track, while Sunny Ridge attempted to come up the rail. Neither could make it to the 5-1 winner.
"It went great," said Ortiz, who rode Patternrecognition to a three-quarters of a length win hours after the birth of his second child, Derek. "He broke out of there very sharply. The way he broke, I didn't want to give the lead away, so I used my own judgment and took a shot and went straight to the rail and took the lead. He got pressured pretty good.
"I took a big risk because those weren't the instructions, but it worked out."
Globetrotting Mendelssohn, who cut back from 10 furlongs in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, stayed up for fourth in a photo. Entering Saturday, plans called for him to run in the Pegasus World Cup (G1) next month at Gulfstream Park before going to stud.
As for Patternrecognition, the ceiling appears high should he remain healthy. The Kelso also ran at a mile, and his fractions Saturday were well above average over an Aqueduct surface as he went in 22.88, 45.68 and 1:09.68.
“They were going fast enough where maybe some jockeys around him figured that’s awful fast for this race and on this track that’s been playing a bit slow — that he’d come back to them," Brown said. "Even I thought that. I said well, he’s better on the lead, but that’s awful fast on this track. Man, this horse impressed me the way he kicked home off those fractions. He earned it today.”
A 5-year-old Florida-bred, Patternrecognition, improved his record to 5-5-0 in 11 career starts, with his only finish out of the exacta a fourth off the layoff to open his 2018 season.