A year ago, Bisnath Parboo was a relatively unknown trainer struggling to make it on the New York circuit with fewer than career 15 winners on his résumé. Now, Parboo could be headed to the Breeders' Cup after his Giant Ryan rallied to a neck victory over Irrefutable in the $350,000 Smile Sprint Handicap, a Breeders' Cup Challenge event for the BC Sprint.
The Grade 2 Smile gave Giant Ryan, a New York bred-son of Freud, his fifth straight victory. The win was also the biggest and most important by far for Parboo who trains Giant Ryan for his son Shivananda Parboo.
Giant Ryan rated just off the pace of Irrefutable while saving ground under jockey Cornelio Velasquez, angled off the rail rallying into the stretch, then wore down the leader in the closing strides. Irrefutable set a modest pace of 22.39 and 45.52 seconds for the opening half-mile while racing off the inside rail, angled back down near the fence once settling into the stretch and just failed to last.
Noble's Promise, the 3-2 favorite, raced within easy striking distance and was gaining on the top pair at the end. Royal Tricon, How's Your Halo, and This Ones for Phil rounded out the complete order of finish.