Driven by Success put away favored General
Maximus at the eighth pole and drew clear to a 3 ¼-length victory in
Sunday’s $75,000 Thunder Rumble Division of the New York Stallion Series at
Aqueduct Racetrack, giving jockey John Velazquez his fifth winner of the
afternoon.
Breaking sharply, the 5-year-old son of Precise End hounded pacesetting
General Maximus through an opening quarter-mile in 22.43 and a half-mile in
44.59 as the pair opened up by six lengths on the rest of the field. Rounding
the turn, Driven by Success ranged up alongside the favorite and after a short
battle, took command with 220 yards to go, hitting the wire in 1:21.74 for the
seven furlongs.
“It was basically a two-horse race, so the only one I had to
worry about was General Maximus and I needed to put a bit of pressure on
him,” said Velazquez, who also won the NYSS Staten Island Division with
Big Brownie and the Memories of Silver overnight stakes with Unbridled Humor earlier
in the day. “Driven by Success broke well enough that I was right next to
him.”
The victory was the fourth from 11 starts this year for Driven by
Success, who is owned by Mike Repole and trained by Todd Pletcher. In addition
to a pair of optional claiming races at Belmont Park,
the gelding won the Vic Ziegel Memorial Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. With
the winner’s purse of $45,000 from the race, restricted to horses sired
by New York-based stallions, he has now earned $525,719.
“He’s an extremely talented horse,” said Pletcher,
who last week saddled Repole’s Uncle
Mo to victory in the
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs. “When he breaks well,
he’s capable of running some really huge races. We did a little extra
gate work with him between races, and it paid off.”
Driven by Success, the narrow second 6-5 choice, returned $4.50 for a
$2 win bet and extended his lifetime record to 8-4-5 from 25 starts.
“He was my first stakes winner and will always have a special
place in my heart,” said Repole. “Whenever he races it means so
much to me. This win means he deserves to be the top New York-bred sprinter
this year.”
Longshot Good Card closed to be third, followed by Uncle T Seven and
Make Note.
In the $75,000 Staten Island for
fillies and mares, Big Brownie rallied strongly along the inside and went onto
a 5 ¾-length victory over We Need V L T’s.
The 4-year-old Wheelaway filly sat fourth as 1-4 favorite Mother Russia
led the field of six through fractions of 22.91 and 46.70. Turning for home,
Velazquez sent Big Brownie through an opening on the rail and she responded
with a powerful late kick that carried her to the wire in 1:22.91.
“That was perfect,” said Velazquez. “She was brave
enough to squeeze through and when I asked her, she responded right away. You
have to have the horse to do that, and it worked out well.”
In snapping a four-race losing streak, Big Brownie returned $26 as the
12-1 fourth choice in the race.
“I’ve only had her a few weeks – [former trainer
Peter Pugh] was leaving for Florida
and as she is a New York-bred, the smart thing seemed to be leaving her here
for the winter,” said Leah Gyarmati, who also owns part of the filly with
Wide Rill Farm. “I breezed her once since her last race, and kind of
coasted into this.”
Raffie’s Rose was third, followed by Mother Russia, Bretton
Woods, and Healthy Debate.
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