Cleon Jones Wins Bongard in Three-Horse Photo Finish
Image:
Description:
Photo: Coglianese Photos/Chelsea Durand
Cleon Jones wins the Bertram F. Bongard Stakes at Belmont Park
A change in distance resulted in a change of fortune for Cleon Jones in the $145,800 Bertram F. Bongard Stakes for New York-bred juveniles Sept. 20 at Belmont Park. A soundly beaten second behind City Man in the 6 1/2-furlong Funny Cide Stakes Aug. 23 at Saratoga Race Course, he improved over the seven-furlong distance of the Bongard, edging pacesetter Three Jokers and City Man in a three-horse stretch battle.
More forwardly placed than he had been in the Funny Cide and two earlier races, Cleon Jones tracked fractions of :23.16 and :46.71 set by Three Jokers while sitting three wide in fourth, a few lengths off the pace. He remained in that position through the turn before gathering momentum in the stretch, passing three horses in the final furlong to win by a head.
"He was responding very well every time I asked him," winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. said. "He was coming, so I just kept riding him hard, and he got there on time."
In notching his first stakes victory in his fourth start, Cleon Jones finished in 1:22.88 and paid $15.60 to win as the second-highest price in the field of five.
Three Jokers, who received mild pace pressure from slow-starting Moonachie, was stubborn in defeat, lasting for second by a nose over third-place City Man, the even-money favorite who surged into contention between horses down the lane. Moonachie and a distant Theitalianamerican, the race's lone maiden, rounded out the order of finish.
A 2-year-old son of Tale of the Cat out of the winning Quiet American mare Whispering, Cleon Jones was purchased for $325,000 by Gold Square at the Ocala Breeders' Sales March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale from the consignment of Eddie Woods. He is trained by Jeremiah Englehart, who also saddled Moonachie.
"He was such a good-looking colt" at the sale, Englehart said of Cleon Jones. "Tale of the Cat is getting a little long in the tooth, but Eddie Woods does such a nice job with his babies. He was one that looked the part. He had a nice, strong hind end to him, and I thought he'd be a nice racehorse. It seems like the longer the better for him, which is kind of surprising."
A two-time winner, Cleon Jones increased his earnings to $167,880 with the $82,500 first-place share of the purse.