Lubash earned his first open stakes victory with a
35-1 upset in the $60,000 Fifth Marine for 3-year-olds on the turf on Friday at
Belmont Park.
Entering today’s race off a 1 ¼-length triumph in the restricted
New York Stallion Stakes Cab Calloway Division, Lubash quickly grabbed the lead
and was shadowed by favored Nordic Truce through fractions of 24.87 and 49.93.
The long shot opened on his rivals nearing the top of the stretch and
maintained a safe advantage in the lane as runner-up Lighthouse Sound gave vain
chase to finish second, 1 ¾ lengths behind the winner.
“The horse loved running on the front and he loved that he got
the chance to run on the front right away,” said winning jockey Jose
Lezcano. “My confidence was high because he was comfortable all the way
around.”
Lubash returned $72.50 for a $2 win wager and headed an exacta that
paid $379.50 for a $2 investment. Owned and bred by Aliyu Ben J. Stables, the son
of Freud traveled one mile in 1:38.32 over a Widener Turf Course that was listed
as “good.”
Prior to his Cab Calloway victory, Lubash made three starts on the turf
at Belmont in the spring, winning a New York-bred allowance on May 22 and finishing
fourth and third and in a pair of starter allowance races respectively held on
June 26 and July 17, and trainer James Ryerson believes his colt is just now
entering his best form.
“He had a little pressure in the Saratoga race [winning the New York Stallion
Stakes Cab Calloway Division on August 11],” said Ryerson. “That
gave me some encouragement that it was better than it looked. When they let him
loose a little bit today, that helped us. I don’t know how we would have
done if we got the pressure, but he stepped up and ran huge. He’s really
been on the improve.”
The Fifth Marine triumph was worth $36,000 to the connections of
Lubash, who has earned $137,444 to date and has posted a record of 4-0-1 from
eight starts.
Asphalt capped a $2,403 trifecta in the Fifth Marine, with Raging Wit,
Aikenite, Nordic Truce, Best Actor, and Radiohead completing the order of
finish.