Silver State runs win streak to 6 in G1 Met Mile
Elmont, N.Y.
As the races get tougher this year, Silver State keeps showing up. And he keeps winning. Who knew that would be the case for a horse that lost his first three graded-stakes starts last year by a combined 14 1/2 lengths?
“This horse takes a step forward with every race,” Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen said after Silver State (5-1) closed with a bold move along the rail on the way to a one-length victory in the Grade 1, $1 million Metropolitan Handicap on Saturday afternoon at Belmont Park.
The victory was the sixth in a row for the Hard Spun colt that was bought nearly three years ago for $450,000. Last year it did not look like such a good buy. This year, Silver State has more than come into his own, running his career earnings to $1,765,094.
“He’s just an absolutely beautiful Stonestreet homebred that (Willis) Horton and Ron Winchell purchased and have campaigned,” Asmussen said. “Their patience to allow him to get to this level has been perfect.”
Despite getting bottlenecked at the start, By My Standards (8-1) rallied to finish second, three-quarters of a length ahead of a stalking Mischevious Alex (7-2).
The winning time was 1:35.45 for the one-turn mile on the main track baked to fast by the 92-degree sunshine. Silver State closed on early fractions of 23.36, 46.31 and 1:10.44 by beaten favorite Knicks Go (4-5), who set the pace and faded to finish fourth.
Asmussen also continued something of a streak of his own. This was his third Met Mile triumph in the last four years.
“It’s a great race to have that kind of a streak in,” he said. “The Met Mile is an extremely significant win and one of the great races in American racing.”
Silver State spent most of his time in mid-pack before jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. sent him on a decisive move along the rail in the homestretch.
“He broke really sharp today and put me in a great spot,” Santana said. “I was just a passenger today. He put me where he wanted to be. The rail opened, so I decided to go through it, and he gave me the victory.”
“He was traveling very comfortably and looked well,” Asmussen said. “Ricardo has a level of confidence in this horse, it’s obviously warranted, I think had a lot to do with the outcome today.”
Silver State’s winning streak includes two allowance races to close last year, and then the Fifth Season, Essex Handicap and Oaklawn Handicap (G2), all at Oaklawn Park.
Saturday’s triumph automatically qualified Silver State for the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 6 at Del Mar, but Asmussen was not looking that far ahead.
“He’s a Met Mile winner,” he said. “We built it up to this point. To be in this position today will give him the credit he deserves. That’s the great part about racing. You have to earn it. That’s what he did today. The Met Mile was our target since last fall.”